Visualisation and modelling of renal capillaries from confocal images.

A computer aided design was developed to support three-dimensional visualisation and modelling of vascular networks. Volume data comprised a series of images obtained using a Zeiss confocal laser scanning microscope. The profiles of vessels were automatically segmented using two-dimensional morphological filters. Segmented contours of the vessels were used to form a spatial model of the network. The centre points of segmented contours were used to derive a three-dimensional graph representing the vascular network. The proposed method was applied to renal capillary networks of normal rats, and showed well the lobular structure of glomeruli. The average length of renal capillary networks was 6.09 mm. Three-dimensional models based on confocal data require much less effort than reconstructions based on serial sections, and can be adapted for any vascular patterns.