Affiliation:
1. Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore MD 21287 USA
2. Department of Oncology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore MD 21287 USA
3. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering The Johns Hopkins University 3400 N Charles St. Baltimore MD 21211 USA
Abstract
AbstractPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly cancer that can develop from pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN), a microscopic lesion in the pancreatic ductal system. PanIN and PDAC are conventionally studied in 2D via histological tissue sections. As such, their true structure is poorly understood due to the inability to image them in 3D. CODA, a recently developed technique for reconstruction of tissues at cellular resolution, is used to study the 3D morphology of the pancreas. Here, CODA is extended through 3D printing of normal pancreatic ducts, PanIN, and PDAC at cm‐scale and µm resolution. A methodology is presented to create 3D printable files from anatomical maps generated from serial histological images and to show detailed validation of the accuracy of this method. Existing 3D printing workflows utilizing medical images derived from computerized tomography (CT), X‐ray, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are scientifically proven to be useful in printing whole organ‐scale structures with sub‐mm resolution. Here, using serial histological sections, it is demonstrated that 3D printing of higher‐resolution structures is also possible. Finally, with the 3D models of normal ducts, PanIN, and PDAC, marked changes to the structure of the human pancreas during tumorigenesis are revealed.
Funder
Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation
Lustgarten Foundation
National Cancer Institute
Troper Wojcicki Foundation
Subject
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering,Mechanics of Materials,General Materials Science