Voxelized simulation of cerebral oxygen perfusion elucidates hypoxia in aged mouse cortex
Fig 7
Comparison between oxygen tension in young mouse and aged mouse suffering from reduced hematocrit in a large size synthetic vascular network spanning 3x3x1.2mm3 of the mouse cortex.
A) The vascular structure colored by diameter (red = thick, blue = thin) shows a dense set of tortuous vessels connected through a complete capillary bed. B) The tabulated occurrence rate of low-oxygen mesh elements in a portion (= a 1x1x0.8mm3 tissue subset from the interior of the domain) of the predicted oxygen field shows the same trends as in the experimental data. C) Predicted pressure distribution throughout the network matches the topology of arteries, veins, and capillary closure. D) A cut through the dense structure reveals regions of hypoxia and pockets of hypoxia occur more frequently in the lower regions of the cortex. D) A zoomed view of oxygen tension in the interior of the vascular network. There are some segments with low oxygen content (but above the hypoxic threshold) especially in deeper regions). E) The oxygen levels in the tissue reveal the lower regions are more susceptible to lower oxygen tension then regions near the cortical surface. A detailed view compares oxygen tension in young to aged specimen. In the young specimen, no hypoxic areas form. In the simulated age mouse, hypoxic regions and their spatial extent were identified; hypoxic pockets are indicated in red and are larger and more prevalent in the aged brain.