Left ventricular blood flow quantification of dilated cardiomyopathy murine knockout model

Mouse models are widely used to study cardiovascular diseases due to their genetic modifiability and rapid maturation. In this study, we utilized a cardiomyocyte-specific Tafazzin knockout mouse model, which develops progressive dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is characterized by remodeling and dilation of the left ventricle (LV) or both ventricles, leading to systolic dysfunction. Echocardiography is commonly used to assess DCM, but functional parameters such as LV size and ejection fraction only detect the condition after adverse remodeling. Strain imaging also struggles to reliably identify early DCM. Preliminary human studies suggest that intracardiac flow patterns may serve as a biomarker for early detection and progression prediction of DCM. We seek to adapt this approach to murine cardiac imaging by employing vector Doppler imaging (VDI) to quantify blood flow patterns using a high-frequency ultrasound probe (28 MHz) and high-frame-rate plane-wave imaging. The results revealed noticeable differences in velocity profiles and kinetic energy between DCM and healthy mice, particularly in the LV mid and apex during systole. This study demonstrates the potential of using VDI with mouse models to assess the relationship between intracardiac flow and DCM progression, as well as its viability as a biomarker.