What question did this study set out to answer?

To develop and validate an automated, model-free computational framework using polarization second-harmonic generation (pSHG) imaging for multiscale quantification of collagen architecture in breast cancer.

August 20, 2026Annals of Biomedical EngineeringOpen Access

Characterization of Collagen Fiber Organization in Breast Cancer via Model-Free Multiscale pSHG Image Analysis

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Authors

GLGiuseppe LombardoVision Engineering (Italy)RMRaffaella MercatelliIstituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione "Alessandro Faedo"GBGiuseppe Massimo BernavaInstitute for Chemical and Physical Processes

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Implication

Proof-of-concept imaging study reveals altered multiscale collagen fiber organization in breast cancer tissue, indicating potential for extracellular matrix biomarker quantification.

Key Points

To develop and validate an automated, model-free computational framework using polarization second-harmonic generation (pSHG) imaging for multiscale quantification of collagen architecture in breast cancer.
Imaged breast tumor and adjacent perilesional tissue samples across 14 fields of view (n = 14 FoVs) using a custom pSHG microscope.
Segmented collagen centerlines using a U-Net architecture to quantify fiber orientations and evaluated global alignment via 2D-FFT angular spectra.
Computed model-free structural metrics, including scalar and biaxial order parameters, and semi-variogram–based spatial autocorrelation.
Tumor tissue exhibited significantly longer spatial coherence length compared to perilesional tissue (87.3 ± 22.1 µm vs. 44.2 ± 11.3 µm, P = 0.01).
Tumors displayed significantly higher scalar order (0.81 ± 0.06 vs. 0.56 ± 0.05, P = 0.01) and elevated biaxial order (0.12 ± 0.02 vs. 0.06 ± 0.06, P < 0.05).
Trigonal polarization modeling achieved robust alignment maps that strongly correlated with deep learning fiber centerline analysis (concordance correlation coefficient CCC = 0.985).

Cite This Study

Lombardo et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a86b5eb8a91293e6a1cd85a https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-026-04345-w

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Implication

Proof-of-concept imaging study reveals altered multiscale collagen fiber organization in breast cancer tissue, indicating potential for extracellular matrix biomarker quantification.

Characterization of Collagen Fiber Organization in Breast Cancer via Model-Free Multiscale pSHG Image Analysis

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Characterization of Collagen Fiber Organization in Breast Cancer via Model-Free Multiscale pSHG Image Analysis

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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