Collagen morphology and texture analysis: from statistics to classification

Sci Rep. 2013:3:2190. doi: 10.1038/srep02190.

Abstract

In this study we present an image analysis methodology capable of quantifying morphological changes in tissue collagen fibril organization caused by pathological conditions. Texture analysis based on first-order statistics (FOS) and second-order statistics such as gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) was explored to extract second-harmonic generation (SHG) image features that are associated with the structural and biochemical changes of tissue collagen networks. Based on these extracted quantitative parameters, multi-group classification of SHG images was performed. With combined FOS and GLCM texture values, we achieved reliable classification of SHG collagen images acquired from atherosclerosis arteries with >90% accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The proposed methodology can be applied to a wide range of conditions involving collagen re-modeling, such as in skin disorders, different types of fibrosis and muscular-skeletal diseases affecting ligaments and cartilage.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Aorta / metabolism
  • Aorta / pathology
  • Female
  • Fibrillar Collagens* / metabolism
  • Fibrillar Collagens* / ultrastructure
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton / methods*
  • Myocardial Infarction / metabolism
  • Myocardial Infarction / pathology
  • Plaque, Atherosclerotic / metabolism
  • Plaque, Atherosclerotic / pathology
  • ROC Curve
  • Rabbits
  • Rats
  • Support Vector Machine

Substances

  • Fibrillar Collagens