Contrast agent-enhanced micro-CT of the healthy and injured spinal cord

Contrast agent-enhanced micro-CT of the healthy and injured spinal cord | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Contrast agent-enhanced micro-CT of the healthy and injured spinal cord Patrick Heimel, Cornelia Schneider, Mohamed Ashmwe, Katja Posa, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8057979/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Traumatic spinal cord injury is a life changing condition, and treatment options are still limited. While a great deal of work has been done in the last decade to improve the understanding of tissue degeneration and repair, more work is necessary to translate this knowledge into the clinic to improve the outcome for patients. Imaging modalities for the spinal cord play an important role in this process but are currently mostly limited to destructive two-dimensional histology and expensive, low-resolution 3D MRI. This work seeks to expand the existing ex vivo imaging possibilities in preclinical research with a cost-effective, non-destructive technique for both healthy and injured spinal cords.We imaged 13 spinal cords using Lugol’s iodine, Hf-POM and Accupaque as contrast enhancing staining agents (CESAs) for µCT imaging. These included: uninjured spinal cords of 8 rats, 4 rat spinal cords with a contusion injury as well as one healthy spinal cord from a human body donor. CECT acquisitions were performed with an array of different settings at resolutions between 1.2 µm for detailed structural evaluation and 18 µm for contusion injury quantification. We further performed comparative classical histological analysis on 5 rat spinal cords and the human spinal cord for validation purposes.For the first time, .we obtained high resolution structural information of the healthy spinal cord using CESAs Lugol’s iodine and Hf-POM, with clear distinction of white and gray matter, visualization of numerous neuronal tracts and fiber bundles. We could detect individual cells such as motoneurons, down to the small fibers of the intramedullary bundles, which run from motoneurons to the ventral rootlets. We could further demonstrate compatibility of immunohistology post-processing with CECT. In the injured spinal cord, both Lugol’s iodine and Accupaque staining provide useful information regarding the extent and composition of the lesioned area.We demonstrate that CECT imaging provides unprecedented 3D structural detail in a non-destructive manner. Though limited to ex-vivo applications, this method provides resolutions that far exceed those achievable with current MRI technology. We provide examples of staining procedures for a range of applications of the spinal cord. We believe the techniques described here are especially useful in combination with classical histological examination and provide additional details in a cost-effective manner. spinal cord injury CECT µCT neuroimaging neuroregeneration Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8057979","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":541706106,"identity":"a6f01d41-651c-495f-90a4-e4bdda110e5a","order_by":0,"name":"Patrick Heimel","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology, The Research Center in Cooperation with AUVA","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Patrick","middleName":"","lastName":"Heimel","suffix":""},{"id":541706108,"identity":"f9d635c2-2360-4ce5-b2b5-1a80ea8698e0","order_by":1,"name":"Cornelia Schneider","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology, The Research Center in Cooperation with AUVA","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cornelia","middleName":"","lastName":"Schneider","suffix":""},{"id":541706112,"identity":"da302350-4f98-4900-8186-0d9f1cb1bb5e","order_by":2,"name":"Mohamed Ashmwe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology, The Research Center in Cooperation with AUVA","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohamed","middleName":"","lastName":"Ashmwe","suffix":""},{"id":541706114,"identity":"52db5fcd-9ca9-4187-b3ba-29d8a9765ff7","order_by":3,"name":"Katja Posa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology, The Research Center in Cooperation with AUVA","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katja","middleName":"","lastName":"Posa","suffix":""},{"id":541706115,"identity":"fc27e2f3-f3de-4edc-8b01-125bfa11f364","order_by":4,"name":"Lara Bieler","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Paracelsus Medical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lara","middleName":"","lastName":"Bieler","suffix":""},{"id":541706116,"identity":"1a0b4830-42d4-41d2-a1e1-13b716e91e3a","order_by":5,"name":"Pasquale Romanelli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Paracelsus Medical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pasquale","middleName":"","lastName":"Romanelli","suffix":""},{"id":541706117,"identity":"f6709307-76a3-4850-82f2-cde937268482","order_by":6,"name":"Paata Pruidze","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Medical University of Vienna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paata","middleName":"","lastName":"Pruidze","suffix":""},{"id":541706118,"identity":"4a02931a-b592-4fb6-bff2-76d6cfbae12f","order_by":7,"name":"Marina Dobrivojević Radmilović","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Zagreb","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marina","middleName":"Dobrivojević","lastName":"Radmilović","suffix":""},{"id":541706119,"identity":"83ae9c60-f555-408e-bd21-cc7b035c712d","order_by":8,"name":"Laszlo Gal","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Szeged","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laszlo","middleName":"","lastName":"Gal","suffix":""},{"id":541706120,"identity":"8536b90c-2406-4b2f-a6de-93e2b340a53b","order_by":9,"name":"Greet Kerckhofs","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université Catholique de Louvain","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Greet","middleName":"","lastName":"Kerckhofs","suffix":""},{"id":541706121,"identity":"d0eba119-2510-47d9-928d-e23e7920d502","order_by":10,"name":"Antal Nógradi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Szeged","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antal","middleName":"","lastName":"Nógradi","suffix":""},{"id":541706122,"identity":"62ca4140-20da-450f-9872-f0a61f1ad3ab","order_by":11,"name":"Wolfgang J. 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While a great deal of work has been done in the last decade to improve the understanding of tissue degeneration and repair, more work is necessary to translate this knowledge into the clinic to improve the outcome for patients. Imaging modalities for the spinal cord play an important role in this process but are currently mostly limited to destructive two-dimensional histology and expensive, low-resolution 3D MRI. This work seeks to expand the existing ex vivo imaging possibilities in preclinical research with a cost-effective, non-destructive technique for both healthy and injured spinal cords.We imaged 13 spinal cords using Lugol’s iodine, Hf-POM and Accupaque as contrast enhancing staining agents (CESAs) for µCT imaging. These included: uninjured spinal cords of 8 rats, 4 rat spinal cords with a contusion injury as well as one healthy spinal cord from a human body donor. 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