RESUMO
The possibility of measuring cardiac function noninvasively has generated wide interest in elastography imaging techniques. Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging (SWEI) is an ultrasound-based elastography technique used to measure stiffness of tissues. While this technique has been studied extensively in static homogenous tissues such as liver, breast or prostate, there is still a significant need to study its capabilities to measure cardiac stiffness and function. In this research, we have studied the potential of SWEI to evaluate the coronary perfusion pressure effect on systolic and diastolic stiffness referred to as elastance and compliance of the heart. Five isolated rabbit hearts were used in this study in a Langendorff preparation. SWEI measurements of stiffness were recorded in two steps. In the first step, coronary perfusion was set to normal and then was reduced to half-normal. After 40 minutes of half-normal perfusion, it was returned to normal perfusion for the second step. SWEI velocity decreased from 6.003 m/s to 4.713 m/s in systole and from 1.948 m/s to 1.507 m/s in diastole in the first step. During the second step raising the perfusion to normal, SWEI stiffness showed an increase from 3.760 m/s to 5.468 m/s in systole and from 1.678 m/s to 2.156 m/s during diastole. Our results show that SWEI measurements of stiffness can characterize the cross talk between coronary perfusion and cardiac stiffness and also has the potential to measure compliance and elastance of the heart in systole and diastole.