ConductVision
Kidney histology image analysis for research
ConductVision Image finds and measures every glomerulus, tubule and vessel in your kidney sections, scores injury and fibrosis, and exports tables for each section and animal.
Scale
- Kidney ~1 cm
- Cortex ~1 mm
As the view moves through the glomerulus, ConductVision Image keeps a box, an outline and a label on each cell it tracks. Choose a cell on the field or under Tracking to follow it.
Section explorer
Compare sham and obstructed kidneys in four stains
Switch the stain to see how mouse kidney changes 10 days after unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), then pick a structure to see what ConductVision Image measures for it.
Normal glomerulus
A capillary tuft inside Bowman's capsule, with open capillary loops and a thin core of mesangial matrix.
What ConductVision Image measures
- Tuft areaµm²Measured on every stain
- Bowman's capsule areaµm²Measured on every stain
- Mesangial matrix areapercent of the tuftMeasured on PAS
- Glomerulosclerosis scorescore for each glomerulusMeasured on PAS
- IHC positive areapercent of the structureMeasured on IHC
ConductVision Image lists the most unusual structures in a section first, so you can review them before the rest.
Summary tables
Tables for each section and each animal
ConductVision Image exports both tables as CSV files. Pick a table to see its columns.
One row for each section, with its counts and the averages across its structures.
| Column | What it holds | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Section | The slide and section name from your image file. | Unit: text |
| Animal | The animal the section came from, read from your sample sheet. | Unit: text |
| Group | The animal's study group, from the same sheet. | Unit: text |
| Stain | The stain on the section. | Unit: text |
| Cortex area | Area of cortex measured, after flagged areas are left out. | Unit: mm² |
| Glomeruli | Glomeruli found in the section. | Unit: count |
| Glomerular density | Glomeruli for each square millimeter of cortex measured. | Unit: count per mm² |
| Mean tuft area | Average tuft area of the glomeruli in the section. | Unit: µm² |
| Mean capsule area | Average area inside Bowman's capsule for the same glomeruli. | Unit: µm² |
| Mesangial matrix area | Average mesangial matrix area of the same glomeruli. | Unit: percent of the tuft |
| Sclerosed area | Average sclerosed share of the tuft across the glomeruli. | Unit: percent of the tuft |
| Glomerulosclerosis index | Average glomerulosclerosis score of the section's glomeruli. | Unit: score |
| Global sclerosis | Glomeruli with global sclerosis. | Unit: count and share of glomeruli |
| Crescents | Glomeruli with a crescent in Bowman's space. | Unit: count and share of glomeruli |
| Podocytes per glomerulus | Average count of podocyte marker nuclei in each glomerulus, on IHC. | Unit: count |
| Tubules | Tubules found in the section. | Unit: count |
| Tubules with casts | Tubules with a cast in the lumen. | Unit: count and share of tubules |
| Tubular injury | Tubules with at least one injury feature. | Unit: share of tubules |
| Collagen area | Collagen area in the cortex. | Unit: percent of the cortex |
| IHC positive area | Positive area in glomeruli, tubules, vessels and interstitium, each on its own. | Unit: percent of each compartment |
| Flagged area | Folds, tears, bubbles and blur left out of every measure. | Unit: mm² |
One row for each animal, combining all of the animal's sections for each stain.
| Column | What it holds | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Animal | The animal, as named in your sample sheet. | Unit: text |
| Group | The animal's study group. | Unit: text |
| Sections | Sections measured for the animal, by stain. | Unit: count |
| Glomeruli measured | Glomeruli across all of the animal's sections. | Unit: count |
| Glomerular density | Glomeruli for each square millimeter of the animal's cortex. | Unit: count per mm² |
| Mean tuft area | Average tuft area across the animal's glomeruli. | Unit: µm² |
| Mesangial matrix area | Average mesangial matrix area across the animal's glomeruli. | Unit: percent of the tuft |
| Glomerulosclerosis index | Average glomerulosclerosis score across the animal's glomeruli. | Unit: score |
| Global sclerosis | Share of the animal's glomeruli with global sclerosis. | Unit: share of glomeruli |
| Crescents | Share of the animal's glomeruli with a crescent. | Unit: share of glomeruli |
| Podocytes per glomerulus | Average podocyte count across the animal's glomeruli. | Unit: count |
| Tubular injury | Share of the animal's tubules with at least one injury feature. | Unit: share of tubules |
| Collagen area | Collagen area across the animal's sections, weighted by cortex area. | Unit: percent of the cortex |
| IHC positive area | Positive area for each marker and compartment, across sections. | Unit: percent of each compartment |
Stains
What each stain shows and what is measured on it
Most kidney studies pair PAS for glomeruli and tubules with a collagen stain for fibrosis.
| Stain | Used in kidney studies for | ConductVision Image measures |
|---|---|---|
| PAS | Used in kidney studies forGlomerular matrix and basement membranes, and brush border loss and casts in injured tubules. | ConductVision Image measuresGlomerular tuft and mesangial matrix area, glomerulosclerosis, brush border, casts and basement membrane thickness. |
| H&E | Used in kidney studies forOverall structure, tubular injury, casts and inflammatory cells. | ConductVision Image measuresStructure counts and sizes, tubular injury features and casts. |
| Masson's trichrome | Used in kidney studies forInterstitial and glomerular fibrosis, where collagen replaces normal tissue. | ConductVision Image measuresCollagen area in the cortex, the interstitium and around glomeruli and vessels. |
| Picrosirius red | Used in kidney studies forCollagen in fibrosis, read in bright-field or polarized light. | ConductVision Image measuresCollagen area in the same compartments as on trichrome. |
| IHC | Used in kidney studies forCell types and injury markers, read by kidney compartment. | ConductVision Image measuresPositive area and positive cells in glomeruli, tubules, vessels and the interstitium. |
Study planner
Plan your kidney study
Enter your study design to see how many animals and slides it covers and what ConductVision Image measures on your stains.
- Animals
- 32
- Slides to stain and scan
- 96
Other model, 4 groups of 8 animals at 1 time point (32 animals). PAS, picrosirius red and 1 IHC marker, with 1 section per stain (96 slides).
Measures from these stains
- Glomerular density
- Tuft area
- Bowman's capsule area
- Mesangial matrix area
- Sclerosed area
- Glomerulosclerosis score
- Crescents
- Podocytes per glomerulus
- Tubule area
- Lumen area
- Brush border
- Injury features
- Cast area
- Basement membrane thickness
- Wall area
- Wall to lumen ratio
- Interstitial area
- Collagen area
- IHC positive area
- Flagged area
The pilot form opens with this plan attached, and you can add details before you send it.
Pilot
How a pilot runs
A pilot measures a few of your own sections, so you can judge the results on your tissue before you measure a whole study.
- 01
Send a few sections
Pick sections that span your study, from a control animal to your most affected one.
- 02
Agree on the measures
Choose the structures, measures and tables your study needs.
- 03
Measure and check by hand
ConductVision Image measures every section. An engineer checks sample fields by hand and reports how closely the software agrees.
- 04
Review and decide
You review the tables and the structures listed as most unusual, then decide whether to measure the full study.
Human tissue
Human kidney tissue for research
Biobanks, consortia and translational labs can run a pilot on human kidney sections held for research.
ConductVision Image finds the same structures and takes the same measures as in mouse and rat sections, for research use only.
Questions about kidney image analysis
Is ConductVision Image for diagnosis?
No. ConductVision Image is for research use only and is not for diagnosis. Labs use it on sections from animal studies and on human tissue held for research.
Which stains does it measure?
It measures PAS, H&E, Masson's trichrome, picrosirius red and chromogenic IHC developed with DAB. The stains table on this page lists the measures each stain supports.
Does it run on our own computers?
Yes. ConductVision Image is a desktop app for Windows 10 and 11, installed on the computers your lab already uses.
Can we keep using ImageJ or QuPath?
Yes. ConductVision Image exports every table as a CSV file, so you can compare its results with your ImageJ or QuPath measurements.
Which species does it measure?
It measures mouse and rat kidney sections, and human kidney tissue held for research. A pilot runs on the species and stains of your own study.
How does a pilot work?
Our team measures a few of your sections with the measures you choose and checks sample fields by hand. You then review the results and decide whether to measure the full study.
What do we send for a pilot?
You send images of a few stained sections, in the files your scanner or microscope already saves. We check that we can read them before the pilot starts.
Measure your own kidney sections
Tell us about your study, and we will plan a pilot on a few of your sections.
