Key result
Echocardiographic imaging shows good agreement with diffusion tensor MRI for mapping myocardial fiber structure.
Why the study?
The feasibility of using echocardiographic imaging to determine the myocardial fiber structure of intact, individual hearts needed to be assessed.
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Echocardiographic fiber mapping is feasible ex vivo; leaves open in vivo validation and clinical translation.
The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using echocardiographic imaging as an approach for determining the myocardial fiber structure of intact, individual hearts. Seven formalin-fixed, ex vivo sheep hearts were imaged using a commercially available echocardiographic imaging system, and the intrinsic fiber structure for the reconstructed short-axis cross section was determined for a specific distance from the apex of each heart. Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance (DT-MR) images of each heart were acquired and fiber maps were created for comparison with the fiber structure obtained from the corresponding reconstructed echocardiographic images. These two methods of obtaining the fiber structure showed relatively good agreement, suggesting that measurements of fiber orientation for individual hearts can be derived from echocardiographic images. Further development of this method may provide a clinically useful approach for mapping the fiber orientation in individual patients over the heart cycle.
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Milne et al. (2012) studied Myocardial fiber structure in excised sheep hearts (n=7). Echocardiographic imaging vs. Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance (DT-MR) imaging was evaluated on Agreement of reconstructed short-axis cross-section myocardial fiber structure. Echocardiographic imaging showed relatively good agreement with diffusion tensor MRI for determining myocardial fiber structure in 7 ex vivo sheep hearts.
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