Reconstruction and Visualization of Fiber and Laminar Structure inthe Normal Human Heart from Ex Vivo DTMRI Data

Journal Article · Mon Dec 18 04:00:00 EST 2006 · Investigative Radiology

OSTI ID:923448

Rohmer, Damien; Sitek, Arkadiusz; Gullberg, Grant T

Background - The human heart is composed of a helicalnetwork of muscle fibers. These fibers are organized to form sheets thatare separated by cleavage surfaces. This complex structure of fibers andsheets is responsible for the orthotropic mechanical properties ofcardiac muscle. The understanding of the configuration of the 3D fiberand sheet structure is important for modeling the mechanical andelectrical properties of the heart and changes in this configuration maybe of significant importance to understand the remodeling aftermyocardial infarction.Methods - Anisotropic least square filteringfollowed by fiber and sheet tracking techniques were applied to DiffusionTensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DTMRI) data of the excised humanheart. The fiber configuration was visualized by using thin tubes toincrease 3-dimensional visual perception of the complex structure. Thesheet structures were reconstructed from the DTMRI data, obtainingsurfaces that span the wall from the endo- to the epicardium. Allvisualizations were performed using the high-quality ray-tracing softwarePOV-Ray. Results - The fibers are shown to lie in sheets that haveconcave or convex transmural structure which correspond to histologicalstudies published in the literature. The fiber angles varied depending onthe position between the epi- and endocardium. The sheets had a complexstructure that depended on the location within the myocardium. In theapex region the sheets had more curvature. Conclusions - A high-qualityvisualization algorithm applied to demonstrated high quality DTMRI datais able to elicit the comprehension of the complex 3 dimensionalstructure of the fibers and sheets in the heart.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Director, Office of Science; National Institutes ofHealth
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 923448
• Report Number(s): LBNL--60243; BnR: 400412000
• Journal Information: Investigative Radiology, Journal Name: Investigative Radiology Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 42; ISSN 0020-9996; ISSN INVRAV
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
ALGORITHMS
CLEAVAGE
CONFIGURATION
Cardiac Imaging Diffusion Tensor MRI Fiber TrackingLaminar
DIFFUSION
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
FIBERS
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MUSCLES
MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
MYOCARDIUM
SIMULATION