Implantable Defibrillator System Shock Function, Mortality, and Cause of Death After Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not have clinically important effects on the device parameters of non-MRI-conditional implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). However, data on non-MRI-conditional ICD detection and treatment of arrhythmias after MRI are limited. OBJECTIVE: To examine if non-MRI-conditional ICDs have preserved shock function of arrhythmias after MRI. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01130896). SETTING: 1 center in the United States. PATIENTS: 629 patients with non-MRI-conditional ICDs enrolled consecutively between February 2003 and January 2015. INTERVENTIONS: 813 total MRI examinations at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 Tesla using a prespecified safety protocol. MEASUREMENTS: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator interrogations were collected after MRI. Clinical outcomes included arrhythmia detection and treatment, generator or lead exchanges, adverse events, and death. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 2.2 years from MRI to latest available ICD interrogation before generator or lead exchange in 536 patients, 4177 arrhythmia episodes were detected, and 97 patients received ICD shocks. Sixty-one patients (10% of total) had 130 spontaneous ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation events terminated by ICD shocks. A total of 210 patients (33% of total) are known to have died (median, 1.7 years from MRI to death); 3 had cardiac arrhythmia deaths where shocks were indicated without direct evidence of device dysfunction. LIMITATIONS: Data were acquired at a single center and may not be generalizable to other clinical settings and MRI facilities. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator interrogations were not available for a subset of patients; adjudication of cause of death relied solely on death certificate data in a subset. CONCLUSION: Non-MRI-conditional ICDs appropriately treated detected tachyarrhythmias after MRI. No serious adverse effects on device function were reported after MRI. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Johns Hopkins University and National Institutes of Health.

Comparison Between a Single-Lead ECG Garment Device and a Holter Monitor: A Signal Quality Assessment.

Wearable electronics are increasingly common and useful as health monitoring devices, many of which feature the ability to record a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). However, recording the ECG commonly requires the user to touch the device to complete the lead circuit, which prevents continuous data acquisition. An alternative approach to enable continuous monitoring without user initiation is to embed the leads in a garment. This study assessed ECG data obtained from the YouCare device (a novel sensorized garment) via comparison with a conventional Holter monitor. A cohort of thirty patients (age range: 20-82 years; 16 females and 14 males) were enrolled and monitored for twenty-four hours with both the YouCare device and a Holter monitor. ECG data from both devices were qualitatively assessed by a panel of three expert cardiologists and quantitatively analyzed using specialized software. Patients also responded to a survey about the comfort of the YouCare device as compared to the Holter monitor. The YouCare device was assessed to have 70% of its ECG signals as "Good", 12% as "Acceptable", and 18% as "Not Readable". The R-wave, independently recorded by the YouCare device and Holter monitor, were synchronized within measurement error during 99.4% of cardiac cycles. In addition, patients found the YouCare device more comfortable than the Holter monitor (comfortable 22 vs. 5 and uncomfortable 1 vs. 18, respectively). Therefore, the quality of ECG data collected from the garment-based device was comparable to a Holter monitor when the signal was sufficiently acquired, and the garment was also comfortable.

Algorithm for Mobile Platform-Based Real-Time QRS Detection.

Recent advancements in smart, wearable technologies have allowed the detection of various medical conditions. In particular, continuous collection and real-time analysis of electrocardiogram data have enabled the early identification of pathologic cardiac rhythms. Various algorithms to assess cardiac rhythms have been developed, but these utilize excessive computational power. Therefore, adoption to mobile platforms requires more computationally efficient algorithms that do not sacrifice correctness. This study presents a modified QRS detection algorithm, the AccYouRate Modified Pan-Tompkins (AMPT), which is a simplified version of the well-established Pan-Tompkins algorithm. Using archived ECG data from a variety of publicly available datasets, relative to the Pan-Tompkins, the AMPT algorithm demonstrated improved computational efficiency by 5-20×, while also universally enhancing correctness, both of which favor translation to a mobile platform for continuous, real-time QRS detection.

Electrocardiogram Monitoring Wearable Devices and Artificial-Intelligence-Enabled Diagnostic Capabilities: A Review.

Worldwide, population aging and unhealthy lifestyles have increased the incidence of high-risk health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, sleep apnea, and other conditions. Recently, to facilitate early identification and diagnosis, efforts have been made in the research and development of new wearable devices to make them smaller, more comfortable, more accurate, and increasingly compatible with artificial intelligence technologies. These efforts can pave the way to the longer and continuous health monitoring of different biosignals, including the real-time detection of diseases, thus providing more timely and accurate predictions of health events that can drastically improve the healthcare management of patients. Most recent reviews focus on a specific category of disease, the use of artificial intelligence in 12-lead electrocardiograms, or on wearable technology. However, we present recent advances in the use of electrocardiogram signals acquired with wearable devices or from publicly available databases and the analysis of such signals with artificial intelligence methods to detect and predict diseases. As expected, most of the available research focuses on heart diseases, sleep apnea, and other emerging areas, such as mental stress. From a methodological point of view, although traditional statistical methods and machine learning are still widely used, we observe an increasing use of more advanced deep learning methods, specifically architectures that can handle the complexity of biosignal data. These deep learning methods typically include convolutional and recurrent neural networks. Moreover, when proposing new artificial intelligence methods, we observe that the prevalent choice is to use publicly available databases rather than collecting new data.

MRI-Conditional Eccentric-Tube Injection Needle: Design, Fabrication, and Animal Trial.

Effective radiation therapy aims to maximize the radiation dose delivered to the tumor while minimizing damage to the surrounding healthy tissues, which can be a challenging task when the tissue-tumor space is small. To eliminate the damage to healthy tissue, it is now possible to inject biocompatible hydrogels between cancerous targets and surrounding tissues to create a spacer pocket. Conventional methods have limitations in poor target visualization and device tracking. In this paper, we leverage our MR-tracking technique to develop a novel injection needle for hydrogel spacer deployment. Herein, we present the working principle and fabrication method, followed by benchtop validation in an agar phantom, and MRI-guided validation in tissue-mimic prostate phantom and sexually mature female swine. Animal trials indicated that the spacer pockets in the rectovaginal septum can be accurately visualized on T2-weighted MRI. The experimental results showed that the vaginal-rectal spacing was successfully increased by 12 ± 2 mm anterior-posterior.

Intracardiac MR imaging (ICMRI) guiding-sheath with amplified expandable-tip imaging and MR-tracking for navigation and arrythmia ablation monitoring: Swine testing at 1.5 and 3T.

PURPOSE: Develop a deflectable intracardiac MR imaging (ICMRI) guiding-sheath to accelerate imaging during MR-guided electrophysiological (EP) interventions for radiofrequency (500 kHz) ablation (RFA) of arrythmia. Requirements include imaging at three to five times surface-coil SNR in cardiac chambers, vascular insertion, steerable-active-navigation into cardiac chambers, operation with ablation catheters, and safe levels of MR-induced heating. METHODS: ICMRI's 6 mm outer-diameter (OD) metallic-braided shaft had a 2.6 mm OD internal lumen for ablation-catheter insertion. Miniature-Baluns (MBaluns) on ICMRI's 1 m shaft reduced body-coil-induced heating. Distal section was a folded "star"-shaped imaging-coil mounted on an expandable frame, with an integrated miniature low-noise-amplifier overcoming cable losses. A handle-activated movable-shaft expanded imaging-coil to 35 mm OD for imaging within cardiac-chambers. Four MR-tracking micro-coils enabled navigation and motion-compensation, assuming a tetrahedron-shape when expanded. A second handle-lever enabled distal-tip deflection. ICMRI with a protruding deflectable EP catheter were used for MR-tracked navigation and RFA using a dedicated 3D-slicer user-interface. ICMRI was tested at 3T and 1.5T in swine to evaluate (a) heating, (b) cardiac-chamber access, (c) imaging field-of-view and SNR, and (d) intraprocedural RFA lesion monitoring. RESULTS: The 3T and 1.5T imaging SNR demonstrated >400% SNR boost over a 4 × 4 × 4 cm3 FOV in the heart, relative to body and spine arrays. ICMRI with MBaluns met ASTM/IEC heating limits during navigation. Tip-deflection allowed navigating ICMRI and EP catheter into atria and ventricles. Acute-lesion long-inversion-time-T1-weighted 3D-imaging (TWILITE) ablation-monitoring using ICMRI required 5:30 min, half the time needed with surface arrays alone. CONCLUSION: ICMRI assisted EP-catheter navigation to difficult targets and accelerated RFA monitoring.

MR-Tracked Deflectable Stylet for Gynecologic Brachytherapy.

Brachytherapy is a radiation based treatment that is implemented by precisely placing focused radiation sources into tumors. In advanced interstitial cervical cancer bracytherapy treatment, this is performed by placing a metallic rod ("stylet") inside a hollow cylindrical tube ("catheter") and advancing the pair to the desired target. The stylet is removed once the target is reached, followed by the insertion of radiation sources into the catheter. However, manually advancing an initially straight stylet into the tumor with millimeter spatial accuracy has been a long-standing challenge, which requires multiple insertions and retractions, due to the unforeseen stylet deflection caused by the stiff muscle tissue that is traversed. In this paper, we develop a novel tendon-actuated deflectable stylet equipped with MR active-tracking coils that may enhance brachytherapy treatment outcomes by allowing accurate stylet trajectory control. Herein we present the design concept and fabrication method, followed by the kinematic and mechanics models of the deflectable stylet. The hardware and theoretical models are extensively validated via benchtop and MRI-guided characterization. At insertion depths of 60 mm, benchtop phantom targeting tests provided a targeting error of 1. 23 ± 0. 47 mm, and porcine tissue targeting tests provided a targeting error of 1. 65 ± 0. 64 mm, after only a single insertion. MR-guided experiments indicate that the stylet can be safely and accurately located within the MRI environment.

Time-Resolved Echo-Particle Image/Tracking Velocimetry Measurement of Interactions Between Native Cardiac Output and Veno-Arterial ECMO Flows.

Determination of optimal hemodynamic and pressure-volume loading conditions for patients undergoing veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) would benefit from understanding the impact of ECMO flow rates (QE) on the native cardiac output in the admixing zone, i.e., aortic root. This study characterizes the flow in the aortic root of a pig with severe myocardial ischemia using contrast-enhanced ultrasound particle image/tracking velocimetry (echo-PIV/PTV). New methods for data preprocessing are introduced, including autocontouring to remove surrounding tissues, followed by blind deconvolution to identify the centers of elongated bubble traces in images with low signal to noise ratio. Calibrations based on synthetic images show that this procedure increases the number of detected bubbles and reduces the error in their locations by 50%. Then, an optimized echo-PIV/PTV procedure, which integrates image enhancement with velocity measurements, is used for characterizing the time-resolved two-dimensional (2D) velocity distributions. Phase-averaged and instantaneous flow fields show that the ECMO flow rate influences the velocity and acceleration of the cardiac output during systole, and secondary flows during diastole. When QE is 3.0 L/min or higher, the cardiac ejection velocity, phase interval with open aortic valve, velocity-time integral (VTI), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) increase with decreasing QE, all indicating sufficient support. For lower QE, the MAP and VTI decrease as QE is reduced, and the deceleration during transition to diastole becomes milder. Hence, for this specific case, the optimal ECMO flow rate is 3.0 L/min.

The Evolving Role of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in the Management of Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Coronary artery disease is prevalent in different causes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), especially in individuals presenting with shockable rhythms of ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/pVT). The purpose of this report is to review the known prevalence and potential importance of coronary artery disease in patients with OHCA and to describe the emerging paradigm of treatment with advanced perfusion/reperfusion techniques and their potential benefits on the basis of available evidence. Although randomized clinical trials are planned or ongoing, current scientific evidence rests principally on observational case series with their potential confounding selection bias. Among patients resuscitated from VF/pVT OHCA with ST-segment elevation on their postresuscitation ECG, the prevalence of coronary artery disease has been shown to be 70% to 85%. More than 90% of these patients have had successful percutaneous coronary intervention. Conversely, among patients resuscitated from VF/pVT OHCA without ST-segment elevation on their postresuscitation ECG, the prevalence of coronary artery disease has been shown to be 25% to 50%. For these patients, early access to the cardiac catheterization laboratory is associated with a 10% to 15% absolute higher functionally favorable survival rate compared with more conservative approaches of late or no access to the cardiac catheterization laboratory. In patients with VF/pVT OHCA refractory to standard treatment, a new treatment paradigm is also emerging that uses venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to facilitate return of normal perfusion and to support further resuscitation efforts, including coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention. The burden of coronary artery disease is high in this patient population, presumably causative in most patients. The strategy of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, coronary angiography, and percutaneous coronary intervention has resulted in functionally favorable survival rates ranging from 9% to 45% in observational studies in this patient population. Patients with VF/pVT should be considered at the highest severity in the continuum of acute coronary syndromes. These patients have a significant burden of coronary artery disease and acute coronary thrombotic events. Evidence from randomized trials will further define optimal clinical practice.

Safety of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Cardiac Devices.

BACKGROUND: Patients who have pacemakers or defibrillators are often denied the opportunity to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) because of safety concerns, unless the devices meet certain criteria specified by the Food and Drug Administration (termed "MRI-conditional" devices). METHODS: We performed a prospective, nonrandomized study to assess the safety of MRI at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 Tesla in 1509 patients who had a pacemaker (58%) or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (42%) that was not considered to be MRI-conditional (termed a "legacy" device). Overall, the patients underwent 2103 thoracic and nonthoracic MRI examinations that were deemed to be clinically necessary. The pacing mode was changed to asynchronous mode for pacing-dependent patients and to demand mode for other patients. Tachyarrhythmia functions were disabled. Outcome assessments included adverse events and changes in the variables that indicate lead and generator function and interaction with surrounding tissue (device parameters). RESULTS: No long-term clinically significant adverse events were reported. In nine MRI examinations (0.4%; 95% confidence interval, 0.2 to 0.7), the patient's device reset to a backup mode. The reset was transient in eight of the nine examinations. In one case, a pacemaker with less than 1 month left of battery life reset to ventricular inhibited pacing and could not be reprogrammed; the device was subsequently replaced. The most common notable change in device parameters (>50% change from baseline) immediately after MRI was a decrease in P-wave amplitude, which occurred in 1% of the patients. At long-term follow-up (results of which were available for 63% of the patients), the most common notable changes from baseline were decreases in P-wave amplitude (in 4% of the patients), increases in atrial capture threshold (4%), increases in right ventricular capture threshold (4%), and increases in left ventricular capture threshold (3%). The observed changes in lead parameters were not clinically significant and did not require device revision or reprogramming. CONCLUSIONS: We evaluated the safety of MRI, performed with the use of a prespecified safety protocol, in 1509 patients who had a legacy pacemaker or a legacy implantable cardioverter-defibrillator system. No long-term clinically significant adverse events were reported. (Funded by Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01130896 .).

The Relationship between MRI Radiofrequency Energy and Function of Nonconditional Implanted Cardiac Devices: A Prospective Evaluation.

Background The risks associated with MRI in individuals who have implanted cardiac devices are thought to arise from the interaction between the implanted device and static, gradient, and radiofrequency magnetic fields. Purpose To determine the relationship between the peak whole-body averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) and change in magnetic field per unit time (dB/dt), maximum specific energy dose, imaging region, and implanted cardiac device characteristics and their function in patients undergoing MRI. Materials and Methods This prospective observational cohort study was conducted from October 16, 2003, to January 22, 2015 (https://ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01130896). Any individual with an implanted cardiac device who was referred for MRI was included. Clinical MRI protocols without SAR restriction were used. Exclusion criteria were newly implanted leads, abandoned or epicardial leads, and dependence on a pacemaker with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator without asynchronous pacing capability. For each MRI pulse sequence, the calculated whole-body values for SAR, dB/dt, and scan duration were collected. Atrial and ventricular sensing, lead impedance, and capture threshold were evaluated before and immediately after (within 10 minutes) completion of each MRI examination. Generalized estimating equations with Gaussian family, identity link, and an exchangeable working correlation matrix were used for statistical analysis. Results A total of 2028 MRI examinations were performed in 1464 study participants with 2755 device leads (mean age, 67 years ± 15 [standard deviation]; 930 men [64%]). There was no evidence of an association between radiofrequency energy deposition, dB/dt, or scan duration and changes in device parameters. Thoracic MRI was associated with decreased battery voltage immediately after MRI (ß = -0.008 V, P < .001). Additionally, right ventricular (RV) lead length was associated with decreased RV sensing (ß = -0.012 mV, P = .05) and reduced RV capture threshold (ß = -0.002 V, P < .01) immediately after MRI. Conclusion There was no evidence of an association between MRI parameters that characterize patient exposure to radiofrequency energy and changes in device and lead parameters immediately after MRI. Nevertheless, device interrogation before and after MRI remains mandatory due to the potential for device reset and changes in lead or generator parameters. © RSNA, 2020 See also the editorial by Shellock in this issue.

Acute enhancement of necrotic radio-frequency ablation lesions in left atrium and pulmonary vein ostia in swine model with non-contrast-enhanced T1 -weighted MRI.

PURPOSE: To evaluate non-contrast-enhanced MRI of acute radio-frequency ablation (RFA) lesions in the left atrium (LA) and pulmonary vein (PV) ostia. The goal is to provide a method for discrimination between necrotic (permanent) lesions and reversible injury, which is associated with recurrence after treatment of atrial fibrillation. METHODS: Fifteen normal swine underwent RFA around the right-superior PV ostia. Electrical pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was verified by electro-anatomic mapping (EAM) and pacing. MRI was carried out using a 3D respiratory-gated T1 -weighted long inversion time (TWILITE) sequence without contrast agent. Key settings were: inversion time 700 ms, triggering over 2 cardiac cycles, pixel size 1.1 mm3 . Contrast-enhanced imaging and T2 -weighted imaging were carried out for comparison. Six animals were sacrificed on ablation day for TTC-stained gross pathology, 9 animals were sacrificed after 2-3 mo after repeat EAM and MRI. Image intensity ratio (IIR) was used to measure lesion enhancement, and gross pathology was used to validate image enhancement patterns and compare lesion widths. RESULTS: RFA lesions exhibited unambiguous enhancement in acute TWILITE imaging (IIR = 2.34 ± 0.49 at 1.5T), and the enhancement patterns corresponded well with gross pathology. Lesion widths in MRI correlated well with gross pathology (R2 = 0.84), with slight underestimation by 0.9 ± 0.5 mm. Lesion enhancement subsided chronically. CONCLUSION: TWILITE imaging allowed acute detection of permanent RFA lesions in swine LA and PV ostia, without the need for contrast agent. Lesion enhancement pattern showed good correspondence to gross pathology and was well visualized by volume rendering. This method may provide valuable intra- or post-procedural assessment of RFA treatment.

Non-contrast-enhanced T1 -weighted MRI of myocardial radiofrequency ablation lesions.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate imaging of radiofrequency ablation lesions with non-contrast-enhanced T1 -weighted (T1w) MRI. METHODS: Fifteen swine underwent left ventricular ablation followed by MRI using different preparations: endocardial or epicardial ablation of naïve animal, or endocardial ablation of animal with myocardial infarction. Lesion imaging was performed using free-breathing, non-contrast-enhanced, T1w sequence with long inversion time (TI). Also acquired were T1 maps and delayed contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging. Hearts were excised for ex vivo imaging, and sliced for gross pathology and histology. RESULTS: All ablations were visibly enhanced in non-contrast-enhanced T1w imaging using TI = 700 ms. T1w enhancement agreed with regions of necrosis in gross pathology and histology. Enhanced lesion cores were surrounded by dark bands containing contraction band necrosis, hematoma, and edema. In animals with myocardial infarction, chronic scar was hypointense in T1w, whereas acute ablations were enhanced, allowing discrimination between chronic scar and acute lesions, unlike DCE. Contrast was sufficient to create 3D volume renderings of lesions after minor postprocessing. CONCLUSIONS: Non-contrast-enhanced T1w imaging with long TI promises to be an effective method for visualizing necrosis within radiofrequency ablation lesions. Enhancement is more specific and stationary than that from DCE. The imaging can be repeated as needed, unlike DCE, and may be especially useful for assessing ablations during or after a procedure. Magn Reson Med 79:879-889, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Real-time free-breathing cardiac imaging with self-calibrated through-time radial GRAPPA.

PURPOSE: Real-time free-breathing cardiac imaging with highly undersampled radial trajectories has previously been successfully demonstrated using calibrated radial generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition (rGRAPPA). A self-calibrated approach for rGRAPPA is proposed that removes the need for the calibration prescan. METHODS: To investigate the effect of various parameters on image quality, a comprehensive imaging study on one normal swine was performed. Root mean squared errors (RMSEs) were computed with respect to gold standard acquisitions, and several acquisition/reconstruction strategies were compared. Additionally, the method was tested on 13 human subjects, and RMSEs relative to standard through-time radial GRAPPA were computed. RESULTS: Real-time images with high spatiotemporal resolution were obtained. Image quality was comparable to calibrated through-time rGRAPPA with endocardial and epicardial borders clearly delineated. In the swine, the average RMSE between self-calibrated and gold-standard calibrated images was 5.18 ± 0.84%. In normal human subjects, the average RMSE between self-calibrated and calibrated through-time rGRAPPA was 3.79 ± 0.64%. For lower accelerations rates (R = 6-8) image quality was similar to comparable calibrated scans though RMSE increased for higher degrees of undersampling (R = 12-16). CONCLUSION: Highly accelerated real-time imaging with undersampled radial trajectories without additional calibration data is feasible. Image quality was acceptable for real-time cardiac MRI applications demanding high speed. Magn Reson Med 77:250-264, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cardiac arrest: resuscitation and reperfusion.

The modern treatment of cardiac arrest is an increasingly complex medical procedure with a rapidly changing array of therapeutic approaches designed to restore life to victims of sudden death. The 2 primary goals of providing artificial circulation and defibrillation to halt ventricular fibrillation remain of paramount importance for saving lives. They have undergone significant improvements in technology and dissemination into the community subsequent to their establishment 60 years ago. The evolution of artificial circulation includes efforts to optimize manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation, external mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices designed to augment circulation, and may soon advance further into the rapid deployment of specially designed internal emergency cardiopulmonary bypass devices. The development of defibrillation technologies has progressed from bulky internal defibrillators paddles applied directly to the heart, to manually controlled external defibrillators, to automatic external defibrillators that can now be obtained over-the-counter for widespread use in the community or home. But the modern treatment of cardiac arrest now involves more than merely providing circulation and defibrillation. As suggested by a 3-phase model of treatment, newer approaches targeting patients who have had a more prolonged cardiac arrest include treatment of the metabolic phase of cardiac arrest with therapeutic hypothermia, agents to treat or prevent reperfusion injury, new strategies specifically focused on pulseless electric activity, which is the presenting rhythm in at least one third of cardiac arrests, and aggressive post resuscitation care. There are discoveries at the cellular and molecular level about ischemia and reperfusion pathobiology that may be translated into future new therapies. On the near horizon is the combination of advanced cardiopulmonary bypass plus a cocktail of multiple agents targeted at restoration of normal metabolism and prevention of reperfusion injury, as this holds the promise of restoring life to many patients for whom our current therapies fail.

Submillimeter diffusion tensor imaging and late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance of chronic myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the three-dimensional (3D) infarct structure and fiber orientation remodeling is essential for complete understanding of infarct pathophysiology and post-infarction electromechanical functioning of the heart. Accurate imaging of infarct microstructure necessitates imaging techniques that produce high image spatial resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The aim of this study is to provide detailed reconstruction of 3D chronic infarcts in order to characterize the infarct microstructural remodeling in porcine and human hearts. METHODS: We employed a customized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique in conjunction with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) on a 3T clinical scanner to image, at submillimeter resolution, myofiber orientation and scar structure in eight chronically infarcted porcine hearts ex vivo. Systematic quantification of local microstructure was performed and the chronic infarct remodeling was characterized at different levels of wall thickness and scar transmurality. Further, a human heart with myocardial infarction was imaged using the same DTI sequence. RESULTS: The SNR of non-diffusion-weighted images was >100 in the infarcted and control hearts. Mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy (FA) demonstrated a 43% increase, and a 35% decrease respectively, inside the scar tissue. Despite this, the majority of the scar showed anisotropic structure with FA higher than an isotropic liquid. The analysis revealed that the primary eigenvector orientation at the infarcted wall on average followed the pattern of original fiber orientation (imbrication angle mean: 1.96 ± 11.03° vs. 0.84 ± 1.47°, p = 0.61, and inclination angle range: 111.0 ± 10.7° vs. 112.5 ± 6.8°, p = 0.61, infarcted/control wall), but at a higher transmural gradient of inclination angle that increased with scar transmurality (r = 0.36) and the inverse of wall thickness (r = 0.59). Further, the infarcted wall exhibited a significant increase in both the proportion of left-handed epicardial eigenvectors, and in the angle incoherency. The infarcted human heart demonstrated preservation of primary eigenvector orientation at the thinned region of infarct, consistent with the findings in the porcine hearts. CONCLUSIONS: The application of high-resolution DTI and LGE-CMR revealed the detailed organization of anisotropic infarct structure at a chronic state. This information enhances our understanding of chronic post-infarction remodeling in large animal and human hearts.

Insights from Novel Noninvasive CT and ECG Imaging Modalities on Electromechanical Myocardial Activation in a Canine Model of Ischemic Dyssynchronous Heart Failure.

INTRODUCTION: The interplay between electrical activation and mechanical contraction patterns is hypothesized to be central to reduced effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Furthermore, complex scar substrates render CRT less effective. We used novel cardiac computed tomography (CT) and noninvasive electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) techniques in an ischemic dyssynchronous heart failure (DHF) animal model to evaluate electrical and mechanical coupling of cardiac function, tissue viability, and venous accessibility of target pacing regions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ischemic DHF was induced in 6 dogs using coronary occlusion, left bundle ablation and tachy RV pacing. Full body ECG was recorded during native rhythm followed by volumetric first-pass and delayed enhancement CT. Regional electrical activation were computed and overlaid with segmented venous anatomy and scar regions. Reconstructed electrical activation maps show consistency with LBBB starting on the RV and spreading in a "U-shaped" pattern to the LV. Previously reported lines of slow conduction are seen parallel to anterior or inferior interventricular grooves. Mechanical contraction showed large septal to lateral wall delay (80 ± 38 milliseconds vs. 123 ± 31 milliseconds, P = 0.0001). All animals showed electromechanical correlation except dog 5 with largest scar burden. Electromechanical decoupling was largest in basal lateral LV segments. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a promising application of CT in combination with ECGI to gain insight into electromechanical function in ischemic dyssynchronous heart failure that can provide useful information to study regional substrate of CRT candidates.

Non-invasive electromechanical activation imaging as a tool to study left ventricular dyssynchronous patients: Implication for CRT therapy.

AIMS: Electromechanical de-coupling is hypothesized to explain non-response of dyssynchrony patient to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). In this pilot study, we investigated regional electromechanical uncoupling in 10 patients referred for CRT using two non-invasive electrical and mechanical imaging techniques (CMR tissue tracking and ECGI). METHODS AND RESULTS: Reconstructed regional electrical and mechanical activation captured delayed LBBB propagation direction from septal to anterior/inferior and finally to lateral walls as well as from LV apical to basal. All 5 responders demonstrated significantly delayed mechanical and electrical activation on the lateral LV wall at baseline compared to the non-responders (P<.05). On follow-up ECGI, baseline electrical activation patterns were preserved in native rhythm and global LV activation time was reduced with biventricular pacing. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of novel imaging techniques of ECGI and CMR tissue tracking can be used to assess spatial concordance of LV electrical and mechanical activation to gain insight into electromechanical coupling.

Three-dimensional whole-heart T2 mapping at 3T.

PURPOSE: Detecting variations in myocardial water content with T2 mapping is superior to conventional T2 -weighted MRI since quantification enables direct observation of complicated pathology. Most commonly used T2 mapping techniques are limited in achievable spatial and/or temporal resolution, both of which reduce accuracy due to partial-volume averaging and misregistration between images. The goal of this study was to validate a novel free breathing T2 mapping sequence that overcomes these limitations. METHODS: The proposed technique was made insensitive to heart rate variability through the use of a saturation prepulse to reset magnetization every heartbeat. Respiratory navigator-gated, differentially T2 -weighted volumes were interleaved per heartbeat, guaranteeing registered images and robust voxel-by-voxel T2 maps. Free breathing acquisitions removed limits on spatial resolution and allowed short diastolic windows. Accuracy was quantified with simulations and phantoms. RESULTS: Homogeneous three-dimensional (3D) T2 maps were obtained from normal human subjects and swine. Normal human and swine left ventricular T2 values were 42.3 ± 4.0 and 43.5 ± 4.3 ms, respectively. The T2 value for edematous myocardium obtained from a swine model of acute myocardial infarction was 59.1 ± 7.1 ms. CONCLUSION: Free-breathing accurate 3D T2 mapping is feasible and may be applicable in myocardial assessment in lieu of current clinical black blood, T2 -weighted techniques.