ImageJ Plugin for Analysis of Porous Scaffolds used in Tissue Engineering

Abstract

ND is an image processing plugin that can be used to calculate the average size and distance between particles and their closest neighbors in many-particle systems. It is written in Java and implemented in ImageJ, the open source Java-based software developed by National Institute of Health (NIH). ND is particularly useful in analysis of porous synthetic and natural constructs (known as scaffolds) that are commonly used in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Architecture of these scaffolds including pore size and density significantly affects the behavior and fate of cells cultured on them. ND adds to the built-in functionalities of ImageJ to provide a fast and user-friendly method to better characterize the porosity of these scaffolds.

Keywords

• ImageJ, porosity characterization, scaffold, nearest neighbor distance