Super-resolution imaging of urethral vasculature in healthy pre- and post-menopausal females
Xia Wang,
Chen Hua,
Tao Ying,
Fuyou Liang,
Lujie Song,
Guoping Song,
Rui Zhang,
Yuanyi Zheng
Affiliations
Xia Wang
Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, PRC
Chen Hua
Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PRC; Shanghai Centre for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai 201602, PRC; Corresponding author
Tao Ying
Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, PRC; Corresponding author
Fuyou Liang
Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PRC
Lujie Song
Department of Urology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, PRC
Guoping Song
Department of Radiology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, PRC
Rui Zhang
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200025, PRC
Yuanyi Zheng
Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, PRC; Corresponding author
Summary: Previous studies have postulated that the urethral vasculature (UV) might play an important role in urinary continence for women. The goal of this research was to compare the UV in pre- and post-menopausal women using a super-resolution ultrasound imaging method called Super Ultrasound for Greater Accuracy and Resolution (SUGAR). We found that post-menopausal women exhibited decreased UV parameters such as fractal dimension, vessel proportion, and mean blood vessel diameter than pre-menopausal women. We also discriminated the vascular pattern in several layers of the urethra and its surrounding in vivo, including the urethral mucosa and submucosa, urethral muscle, and anterior vaginal wall. Besides, the statistical analysis of the vasculature pattern showed that most of the UV parameters peaked at mid-urethra. Ultimately, the UV parameters exhibited a tendency of first increasing, then reducing, and finally decreasing with age.
