Evaluation of high-resolution image accuracy for small animal vascular flow quantitation

Hemodynamics plays a vital role in early cardiac morphogenesis. Subject-specific blood flow simulations of small animal vascular networks provide key mechanistic insights into vascular growth and remodeling. Though, the accuracy of numerical simulations is critically dependent on the quality of 3D anatomical models and high-resolution image stacks from which they were obtained. Here, we analyze the morphological and hemodynamic profiles of the rapidly morphing avian pharyngeal arch arteries (PAAs) using three separate imaging modalities: 4-dimensional ultrasound (4DUS), light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM), and nano-computed tomography (nanoCT). We use statistical shape modeling and geometric analysis to analyze the morphological differences between cohorts obtained from each imaging modality and perform multiscale computational fluid dynamics modeling on representative geometries. Multiscale (3D-0D) pulsatile hemodynamic simulations, in which the three-dimensional domain of interest is coupled to a zero-dimensional electric analog representation of subsequent circulation, allow for extensive pressure and flow characterization between modality-based models. Results obtained confirm LSFM images maintain the morphological intricacies of PAAs in agreement with nano-CT standards, while 4DUS is less accurate with smaller vessels. Information obtained from these models will serve as a reference for acquiring high resolution images for small animal flow quantitation.