Key result
A method combining cardiac MRI and finite-element surface fitting assessed left atrial mechanics with a root mean square error of 2.3 ± 0.5 mm and inter-operator variability of less than 10%.
Observational (n=23)
A novel method combining cardiac MRI and finite-element surface fitting can rapidly and reproducibly assess global and regional left atrial mechanical function, revealing spatial heterogeneity even in healthy adults.
Supports technical feasibility of MRI-based left atrial assessment; leaves open clinical adoption pending outcome studies.
Atrial fibrillation is an increasingly prevalent cardiovascular disease; changes in atrial structure and function induced by atrial fibrillation and its treatments are often spatially heterogeneous. However, spatial heterogeneity of function is difficult to assess with standard imaging techniques. This paper describes a method to assess global and regional mechanical function by combining cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and finite-element surface fitting. We used this fitted surface to derive measures of left atrial volume, regional motion, and spatial heterogeneity of motion in 23 subjects, including healthy volunteers and atrial fibrillation patients. We fit the surfaces using a Newton optimization scheme in under 1 min on a standard laptop, with a root mean square error of 2.3 ± 0.5 mm, less than 9% of the mean fitted radius, and an inter-operator variability of less than 10%. Fitted surfaces showed clear definition of the phases of left atrial motion (filling, passive emptying, active contraction) in both volume-time and regional radius-time curves. Averaged surfaces of healthy volunteers and atrial fibrillation patients provided evidence of substantial regional variation in both amount and timing of regional motion, indicating spatial heterogeneity of function, even in healthy adults.
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Moyer et al. (2013) conducted an observational in Atrial fibrillation (n=23). Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and finite-element surface fitting was evaluated on Left atrial volume, regional motion, and spatial heterogeneity of motion. A method combining cardiac MRI and finite-element surface fitting assessed left atrial mechanics with a root mean square error of 2.3 ± 0.5 mm and inter-operator variability of less than 10%.
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