Multidimensional analysis of the adult human heart in health and disease using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
Current clinical imaging modalities such as CT and MRI provide resolution adequate to diagnose cardiovascular diseases but cannot depict detailed structural features in the heart across length scales. Hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT) uses fourth-generation synchrotron sources with improved x-ray brilliance and high energies to provide micron-resolution imaging of intact adult organs with unprecedented detail.
Purpose
To evaluate the capability of HiP-CT to depict the macro- to microanatomy of structurally normal and abnormal adult human hearts ex vivo.
Materials and Methods
Between February 2021 and September 2023, two adult human donor hearts were obtained, fixed in formalin, and prepared using a mixture of crushed agar in a 70% ethanol solution. One heart was from a 63-year-old White male without known cardiac disease, and the other was from an 87-year-old White female with a history of multiple known cardiovascular pathologies including ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation. Nondestructive ex vivo imaging of these hearts without exogenous contrast agent was performed using HiP-CT at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
Results
HiP-CT demonstrated the capacity for high-spatial-resolution, multiscale cardiac imaging ex vivo, revealing histologic-level detail of the myocardium, valves, coronary arteries, and cardiac conduction system across length scales. Virtual sectioning of the cardiac conduction system provided information on fatty infiltration, vascular supply, and pathways between the cardiac nodes and adjacent structures. HiP-CT achieved resolutions ranging from gross (isotropic voxels of approximately 20 µm) to microscopic (approximately 6.4-µm voxel size) to cellular (approximately 2.3-µm voxel size) in scale. The potential for quantitative assessment of features in health and disease was demonstrated.
Conclusion
HiP-CT provided high-spatial-resolution, three-dimensional images of structurally normal and diseased ex vivo adult human hearts. Whole-heart image volumes were obtained with isotropic voxels of approximately 20 µm, and local regions of interest were obtained with resolution down to 2.3–6.4 µm without the need for sectioning, destructive techniques, or exogenous contrast agents.
Current clinical imaging modalities such as CT and MRI provide resolution adequate to diagnose cardiovascular diseases but cannot depict detailed structural features in the heart across length scales. Hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT) uses fourth-generation synchrotron sources with improved x-ray brilliance and high energies to provide micron-resolution imaging of intact adult organs with unprecedented detail.
Purpose
To evaluate the capability of HiP-CT to depict the macro- to microanatomy of structurally normal and abnormal adult human hearts ex vivo.
Materials and Methods
Between February 2021 and September 2023, two adult human donor hearts were obtained, fixed in formalin, and prepared using a mixture of crushed agar in a 70% ethanol solution. One heart was from a 63-year-old White male without known cardiac disease, and the other was from an 87-year-old White female with a history of multiple known cardiovascular pathologies including ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation. Nondestructive ex vivo imaging of these hearts without exogenous contrast agent was performed using HiP-CT at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
Results
HiP-CT demonstrated the capacity for high-spatial-resolution, multiscale cardiac imaging ex vivo, revealing histologic-level detail of the myocardium, valves, coronary arteries, and cardiac conduction system across length scales. Virtual sectioning of the cardiac conduction system provided information on fatty infiltration, vascular supply, and pathways between the cardiac nodes and adjacent structures. HiP-CT achieved resolutions ranging from gross (isotropic voxels of approximately 20 µm) to microscopic (approximately 6.4-µm voxel size) to cellular (approximately 2.3-µm voxel size) in scale. The potential for quantitative assessment of features in health and disease was demonstrated.
Conclusion
HiP-CT provided high-spatial-resolution, three-dimensional images of structurally normal and diseased ex vivo adult human hearts. Whole-heart image volumes were obtained with isotropic voxels of approximately 20 µm, and local regions of interest were obtained with resolution down to 2.3–6.4 µm without the need for sectioning, destructive techniques, or exogenous contrast agents.
Date Issued
2024-07-01
Date Acceptance
2024-05-07
Citation
Radiology, 2024, 312 (1)
ISSN
0033-8419
Publisher
Radiological Society of North America
Journal / Book Title
Radiology
Volume
312
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by the Radiological Society of North America under a CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39012246
Subjects
IMAGE
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Science & Technology
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
ARTN e232731
Date Publish Online
2024-07-16