Page 10 - Clinical Connections - Summer 2023
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RVC RESEARCH    STUDY    VETERINARY SERVICES       RVC.AC.UK
         Vaccine delivery

        3D PRINTED CALF HEAD MODEL TO ASSESS
        DISPERSAL OF INTRANASAL VACCINE


        Dirk Werling, Professor of Molecular Immunology

          ntranasal vaccination is an increasingly   research  by combining biomechanics,   location especially important for the cattle
          used practice in humans, as well as   molecular immunology, and veterinary   vaccination process.
        I farmed  species.  Pioneering  research  at   diagnostic imaging.       Thus, this  project aimed to give insight
        the RVC studied the dispersal of intranasal   It is part of a research project of Veterinary   into the structure of the bovine nasal cavity
        vaccine in calves.                  Medicine undergraduate Macy Glen, who   and how the structures present affect nasal
          Most pathogens invade the host via the   won an Association of Veterinary Teaching   vaccination.  Not  only  did  the  project  look
        mucosal  surfaces,  where  they  start  their   and Research Work (AVTRW) Golden   at these structures but also at how the
        initial replication – and thus predispose   Jubilee  Award, under the supervision of   deposition of the vaccine is affected by the
        the tissue, and subsequently the animal,   myself, Dr Dagmar Berger, Senior Lecturer   angle of the head during delivery.
        for secondary infections and more severe   for Equine Diagnostic Imaging, and Richard
        disease.                            Bomphrey,  Professor  of  Comparative   Interdisciplinary cooperation
          Even  though  the  nasal  cavity  geometry   Biomechanics.            The study was only possible through
        is potentially critical for vaccine efficacy, the   The study of anatomical structures often   interdisciplinary cooperation between the
        anatomical structure is relatively unstudied   requires the use of live animals, which can   distinctly  different  fields  of  biomechanics,
        in this context.  Therefore the researchers   be problematic due to concerns over ethics   immunology, and diagnostic imaging
        aimed to assess the size of the mucosal   and repeatability, as vaccines cannot be   The project was facilitated by innovative
        surface and the volume of each of the nares   removed again once applied.   imaging technology that used a semi-
        (nostrils) in the nasal cavity.       Using a 3D printed physical models will   automatic approach to modelling the calf's
          The  innovative  project  makes  use of   allow researchers to remove (or at least   head  prior  to  3D  printing,  and  indeed,  no
        state-of-the-art  imaging  and  3D  printing   reduce  the number of) animals necessary   animals  were  used  specifically  for  this
        technology to reduce the number of   for  optimising  vaccine  compositions.  project, although the initial CT scans were
        animals used in research to investigate   Starting this study, it was unclear if the   from cadavers.
        improvements in immunisation techniques.   models would be accurate enough to be
        Heads from cadavers were CT-scanned   a  suitable  substitute  for  vaccine  testing  in   Findings
        and the scans used to reconstruct a digital   animals.                  The  project  resulted  in  multiple  important
        model that was subsequently 3D printed.  The motivation for the study was   findings,  which  could  bring  changes  to
          The resulting model was used, next to the   multifaceted. First of all, there are no   the practice of nasal vaccination, and
        original cadaver head, to apply a radiopaque   studies on ruminant animals that use   experiments that are based on living
        vaccine. Both heads were CT scanned   3D-printed  models  to  assess  vaccine   structures. It showed that semi-automated
        again to assess nasal vaccine distribution.   delivery. This project took a first step in this   segmentation  can  produce  3D-printed
          The projects spearhead interdisciplinary   new direction. Second, the nasal cavity is a   models that are similar enough to real-life
                                                                                structures to be viable for experiments that
         RVC Veterinary student Macy Glen, pictured with the 3D-printed model of the calf head  would normally be done on living organisms.
                                                                                 The study also revealed that nasal
                                                                                vaccination only covers a small percentage
                                                                                of the mucosal surface of the nares, and
                                                                                the surface covered can be altered through
                                                                                changes in the elevation of the head.
                                                                                 Research projects such as this pave the
                                                                                way for future innovative, interdisciplinary
                                                                                research.  It  offers  ideas  as  to  how  to
                                                                                exclude animal testing in the future and how
                                                                                to work together as a coherent unit between
                                                                                disciplines to facilitate exciting research.
                                                                                This also paves the way for future research
                                                                                into  more  effective  nasal  vaccination,  for
                                                                                example for new applicators or techniques.







                                                                                      For small animal referrals, please call:
                                                                                     01707 666399
                                                                                      Email:
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        10   Summer 2023
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