• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.181-192
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• 2014

In this paper, we propose a robust real-time myocardial border tracking algorithm for echocardiography. Commonly, after an initial contour of LV border is traced at one or two frame from the entire cardiac cycle, LV contour tracking is performed over the remaining frames. Among a variety of tracking techniques, optical flow method is the most widely used for motion estimation of moving objects. However, when echocardiography data is heavily corrupted in some local regions, the errors bring the tracking point out of the endocardial border, resulting in distorted LV contours. This shape distortion often occurs in practice since the data acquisition is affected by ultrasound artifacts, dropout or shadowing phenomena of cardiac walls. The proposed method deals with this shape distortion problem and reflects the motion realistic LV shape by applying global deformation modeled as affine transform partitively to the contour. We partition the tracking points on the contour into a few groups and determine each affine transform governing the motion of the partitioned contour points. To compute the coefficients of each affine transform, we use the least squares method with equality constraints that are given by the relationship between the coefficients and a few contour points showing good tracking results. Many real experiments show that the proposed method supports better performance than existing methods.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권7호
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• pp.1054-1065
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• 2021

Objective: We implemented a novel resectable myocardial model for mock myectomy using a hybrid method of three-dimensional (3D) printing and silicone molding for patients with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (ApHCM). Materials and Methods: From January 2019 through May 2020, 3D models from three patients with ApHCM were generated using the end-diastolic cardiac CT phase image. After computer-aided designing of measures to prevent structural deformation during silicone injection into molding, 3D printing was performed to reproduce anatomic details and molds for the left ventricular (LV) myocardial mass. We compared the myocardial thickness of each cardiac segment and the LV myocardial mass and cavity volumes between the myocardial model images and cardiac CT images. The surgeon performed mock surgery, and we compared the volume and weight of the resected silicone and myocardium. Results: During the mock surgery, the surgeon could determine an ideal site for the incision and the optimal extent of myocardial resection. The mean differences in the measured myocardial thickness of the model (0.3, 1.0, 6.9, and 7.3 mm in the basal, midventricular, apical segments, and apex, respectively) and volume of the LV myocardial mass and chamber (36.9 mL and 14.8 mL, 2.9 mL and -9.4 mL, and 6.0 mL and -3.0 mL in basal, mid-ventricular and apical segments, respectively) were consistent with cardiac CT. The volume and weight of the resected silicone were similar to those of the resected myocardium (6 mL [6.2 g] of silicone and 5 mL [5.3 g] of the myocardium in patient 2; 12 mL [12.5 g] of silicone and 11.2 mL [11.8 g] of the myocardium in patient 3). Conclusion: Our 3D model created using hybrid 3D printing and silicone molding may be useful for determining the extent of surgery and planning surgery guided by a rehearsal platform for ApHCM.

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.50-58
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Little is known regarding right ventricular (RV) remodeling immediately after Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair. We sought to describe myocardial deformation by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) after TOF repair and investigate associations between these parameters and early post-operative outcomes. METHODS: Fifteen infants underwent CMR without sedation as part of a prospective pilot study after undergoing complete TOF repair, prior to hospital discharge. RV deformation (strain) was measured using tissue tracking, in addition to RV ejection fraction (EF), volumes, and pulmonary regurgitant fraction. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine associations between both strain and CMR measures/clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Most patients were male (11/15, 73%), with median age at TOF repair 53 days (interquartile range, 13,131). Most patients had pulmonary stenosis (vs. atresia) (11/15, 73%) and 7 (47%) received a transannular patch as part of their repair. RV function was overall preserved with mean RV EF of 62% (standard deviation [SD], 9.8). Peak radial and longitudinal strain were overall diminished (mean ± SD, 33.80 ± 18.30% and -15.50 ± 6.40%, respectively). Longer hospital length of stay after TOF repair was associated with worse RV peak radial ventricular strain (correlation coefficient (r), -0.54; p = 0.04). Greater pulmonary regurgitant fraction was associated with shorter time to peak radial RV strain (r = -0.55, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In this small study, our findings suggest presence of early decrease in RV strain after TOF repair and its association with hospital stay when changes in EF and RV size are not yet apparent.

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.202-211
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate normal changes throughout aging of the heart in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in healthy volunteers. While type 2 diabetes mellitus is a frequent finding in the elderly population, also the influence of this circumstance in otherwise healthy persons is part of our study. METHODS: In this prospective single-center trial, 75 healthy subjects in distinct age groups and 10 otherwise healthy diabetics were enrolled. All subjects underwent functional, flow sensitive, native T2- and T1-mapping in a 1.5T CMR scanner. RESULTS: No differences in right and left ventricular ejection fractions were observed between aging healthy groups. Bi-ventricular volumes lowered significantly (p<0.001) between the age groups. There was also a significant decrease in myocardial T1 values, aortic distensibility, and left ventricular peak diastolic strain rates. There were no differences in T2 mapping and the other deformation parameters. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus had lower end-diastolic volume indexes; all the other measurements were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Aging processes in the healthy heart involve a decrease in ventricular volumes, with ejection fractions remaining normal. Stiffening of the myocardium and aorta and a decrease in T1 values are potential indications of age-related remodeling. Type 2 diabetes mellitus seems to have no major influence on aging processes of the heart.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.880-889
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the regional amyloid burden and myocardial deformation using T1 mapping and strain values in patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA) according to late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) patterns. Materials and Methods: Forty patients with CA were divided into 2 groups per LGE pattern, and 15 healthy subjects were enrolled. Global and regional native T1 and T2 mapping, extracellular volume (ECV), and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-feature tracking strain values were compared in an intergroup and interregional manner. Results: Of the patients with CA, 32 had diffuse global LGE (group 2), and 8 had focal patchy or no LGE (group 1). Global native T1, T2, and ECV were significantly higher in groups 1 and 2 than in the control group (native T1: 1384.4 ms vs. 1466.8 ms vs. 1230.5 ms; T2: 53.8 ms vs. 54.2 ms vs. 48.9 ms; and ECV: 36.9% vs. 51.4% vs. 26.0%, respectively; all, p < 0.001). Basal ECV (53.7%) was significantly higher than the mid and apical ECVs (50.1% and 50.0%, respectively; p < 0.001) in group 2. Basal and mid peak radial strains (PRSs) and peak circumferential strains (PCSs) were significantly lower than the apical PRS and PCS, respectively (PRS, 15.6% vs. 16.7% vs. 26.9%; and PCS, -9.7% vs. -10.9% vs. -15.0%; all, p < 0.001). Basal ECV and basal strain (2-dimensional PRS) in group 2 showed a significant negative correlation (r = -0.623, p < 0.001). Group 1 showed no regional ECV differences (basal, 37.0%; mid, 35.9%; and apical, 38.3%; p = 0.184). Conclusion: Quantitative T1 mapping parameters such as native T1 and ECV may help diagnose early CA. ECV, in particular, can reflect regional differences in the amyloid deposition in patients with advanced CA, and increased basal ECV is related to decreased basal strain. Therefore, quantitative CMR parameters may help diagnose CA and determine its severity in patients with or without LGE.