Potential therapeutic benefits of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) to promote blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) have been demonstrated with human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. Our research employs an in vivo fertilized chicken egg angiogenesis model to evaluate response to PEMFs. Helmholtz coils were interfaced to a waveform generator and signal amplifier. The generator was used to create PEMFs of specific frequencies, amplitudes, and shapes. Eggs were divided into two groups (control and treatment) and placed in compact incubators. Incubators were placed within active or sham Helmholtz coils and the treatment group was exposed to PEMF. Blood vessels were imaged both within the egg and after eggshells were dissolved away. CAIMAN, a MATLAB image analysis toolkit, was used for image pre-processing, segmentation, post-processing, and calculation of vessel parameters. Our research findings could contribute to development of novel therapies employing PEMFs to promote tissue repair and regeneration.
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