Quantitative structural assay of a nerve graft

A method for assessing the quality of a nerve graft, the method comprising:

• obtaining an image of laminin-containing tissue in the nerve graft;
• creating a transformed image using a transformation function of an image processing application on the image;
• using an analysis function of the image processing application, analyzing the transformed image to identify one or more structures in accordance with one or more recognition criteria, wherein the one or more recognition criteria filter out from the analysis one or more non-conforming structures;
• determining one or more structural characteristics of the nerve graft based on a measurement of one or more structures not filtered out from the analysis, wherein such structures comprise an endoneurial tube and/or perineurium;
• and
• assessing the quality of the nerve graft based on the one or more structural characteristics.

A method for assessing the quality of a nerve graft, the method comprising:

• obtaining an image of laminin-containing tissue in the nerve graft;
• creating a transformed image using a transformation function of an image processing application on the image;
• using an analysis function of the image processing application, analyzing the transformed image to identify one or more structures in accordance with one or more recognition criteria, wherein the one or more recognition criteria filter out from the analysis one or more non-conforming structures;
• determining one or more structural characteristics of the nerve graft based on a measurement of the one or more structures not filtered out from the analysis, wherein such structures comprise an endoneurial tube and/or perineurium;
• and
• assessing the quality of the nerve graft based on the one or more structural characteristics, the assessing including:
• comparing the one or more structural characteristics to one or more of:
• a qualitative assessment score;
• one or more reference ranges indicating an acceptable structural characteristic of the nerve graft;
• or
• a bioassay result of the nerve graft;
• and
• considering at least one result of the comparing in making the assessment.