Three-dimensional registration of synchrotron radiation-based micro-computed tomography images with advanced laboratory micro-computed tomography data from murine kidney casts

Malfunction of oxygen regulation in kidney and liver may lead to the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In kidney, it is hypothesized that renal gas shunting from arteries to veins eliminates excess oxygen. Such shunting is highly dependent on the structure of the renal vascular network. The vascular tree has so far not been quantified under maintenance of its connectivity as three-dimensional imaging of the vessel tree down to the smallest capillaries, which in mouse model are smaller than 5 μm in diameter, is a challenging task. An established protocol uses corrosion casts and applies synchrotron radiation-based micro-computed tomography (SRμCT), which provides the desired spatial resolution with the necessary contrast. However, SRμCT is expensive and beamtime access is limited. We show here that measurements with a phoenix nanotomrm (General Electric, Wunstorf, Germany) can provide comparable results to those obtained with SRμCT, except for regions with small vessel structures, where the signal-to-noise level was significantly reduced. For this purpose the nanotom®m measurement was compared with its corresponding measurement acquired at the beamline P05 at PETRA III at DESY, Hamburg, Germany.