Monitoring Kidney Microanatomy Changes During Ischemia-Reperfusion Process Using Texture Analysis of OCT Images

Abstract

Kidney ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) accounts for the majority of acute kidney injury cases, whose consequences are commonly encountered after kidney transplantation. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been applied to image changes in kidney microanatomy and microcirculation. In this paper, we demonstrate a quantitative method for monitoring kidney status during I/R process using texture properties of OCT images. This approach employs skewness to measure the distribution of en face OCT image intensities at different depths, thus allowing differentiating I/R status of kidney. The skewness analysis based on quantitative intensity shows promise for monitoring kidney status during I/R and the potential for evaluating the viability of transplant kidney.