Description: The human liver is divided into thousands of lobules, each of which contains several arteries, veins and bile ducts, some grouped together in areas called portal triads, others going into the tissue surrounding these portal triads. How these vessels grow around each other and connect can be visualized in 3D models. With these models biological questions concerning the anatomy are being answered.
In collaboration with the liver department of the Amsterdam Medical Center we have constructed a high resolution 3D model of the vessels of a small area of the liver.
The main question for which this model was constructed is: when bile ducts leave the portal triad, does this occur more towards the endings of the portal triads than around the roots and main body of the triads? Based on visual inspection biologists tend to think so, but this has so far not been studied in an exact and objective way.
The project would consist of measuring features in the model in order to answer this research question. Preprocessing would be done using XML parsing and image analysis techniques. Subsequently an algorithm will have to be written to perform the analysis. The project is part of the PhD of Laura Bertens, working in the Bio-imaging group of Fons Verbeek. Together you will comprise a list of meaningful features and come up with ways to analyze these in the 3D model. For more information or a demonstration of the model, feel free to walk in any time, room 115.