Masayuki Yamaguchi1, Natsumaro Kutsuna2,3,
Ryutaro Nakagami1,4, Akira Nabetani5, Atsushi Nozaki5,
Mamoru Niitsu4, Seiichiro Hasezawa2,3, Hirofumi Fujii1,3
1Functional Imaging Division, National
Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; 2Graduate
School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan; 3Institute
for Bioinformatics Research and Development-Japan Science and Technology
Agency, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan; 4Graduate School of Human Health
Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan; 5GE
Healthcare Japan, Hino, Tokyo, Japan
Seminiferous
tubules are stratified epithelia composed of germ cells and Sertoli cells.
They produce sperm and normally are 200E00μm in diameter. We have
succeeded in visualizing rat seminiferous tubules on in vivo MRI using a 3T scanner. In addition, the machine-learning
technique allowed automatic classification of testicular regions on MRI into
normal and abnormal spermatogenesis in chemotherapy-induced injury in rat
testes. If these techniques are implemented in clinics in the future, they
will be a helpful tool in reproductive medicine for infertile males.
Keywords