3D quantitative visualization of altered LV wall thickening dynamics caused by coronary microembolization

Regional heart wall dynamics has been shown to be a sensitive indicator of LV wall ischemia. Rates of local LV wall thickening during a cardiac cycle can be measured and illustrated using functional parametric mappings. This display conveys the spatial distribution of dynamic strain in the myocardium and thereby provides a rapid qualitative appreciation of the severity and extent of the ischemic region. 3D reconstructions were obtained in an anesthetized pig from 8 adjacent, shortaxis, slices of the left ventricle imaged with an Electron Beato Computer Tomograph at 11 time points through one complete cardiac cycle. The 3D reconstructions were obtained before and after injection of 100 μm microspheres into the Left Anterior Descending (LAD) coronary artery. This injection causes microembolization of LAD artery branches within the heart wall. The image processing involved radially dividing the tomographic images of the myocardium into small subdivisions with color encoding of the local magnitude of regional thickness or regional velocities of LV wall thickening throughout the cardiac cycle. We compared the effectiveness of animation of wall thickness encoded in color versus a static image of computed rate of wall thickness change in color. The location, extent and severity of regional wall akinesis or dyskinesis, as determined from these displays, can then be compared to the region of embolization as indicated by the distribution of altered LV wall perfusion.