Research | Queen’s University Canada

The Tiniest Tree of Life

COVID-19, the second pandemic of the current century, is still an ongoing global health emergency. Its complications and mortality are associated with pneumonia and alterations in the pulmonary vasculature. Acquiring 3D images of vascular trees in animal models provide a useful tool to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 in humans. In our research aimed at finding new drugs for COVID-19 under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Archer, vascular trees of a mouse were pressure perfused to maximal dilation with a radio-opaque material (barium). The heart and lungs were fixed and scanned using VECTor4CT scanner. VECTor4CT is the first tri-modality imaging system equipped with an ultra-high-resolution micro-computed tomography (µCT) scanner at Queen’s University.
Submission Year: 
2022
Photographer's affiliation: 
Staff
Academic areas: 
Health Sciences
Art of Research categories: 
Good health and well-being
Photo: 
[Photo of a 3D image of vascular trees in animal models]
Categories: 
Faculty / Researcher
Faculty of Health Sciences
School of Medicine
Department of Medicine
Health, Wellness and the Determinants of Human Health
Patient-Oriented Research, Transformative Health Care and Health Promotion
Analytics, Healthcare and Promotion across Populations and Cultures
Translational Institute of Medicine (TIME)
Location of photograph: 
Queen's CardioPulmonary Unit (QCPU)
Photographer's name: 
Elahe Alizadeh, PhD
Display Photographers Affiltion + Faculty or Department: 
Queen’s CardioPulmonary Unit (QCPU), Department of Medicine