Emil K S Espe, Bård A Bendiksen, Lili Zhang, Ivar Sjaastad.
The heart’s right ventricle (RV) is often overlooked. Its job is “only” to guide blood from the body to the lungs. However, we know that the RV offers important diagnostic information in many diseases. To make use of this, we need imaging techniques able to measure the RV geometry and function. However, it is difficult to get good images of the RV: it has a very thin wall, has a peculiar shape and is largely hidden behind the breastbone. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) overcomes some of these challenges, but the imaging accuracy is still hampered by the complex geometry of the RV.
In this paper, we present a new, simple technique that can correct the errors induced by the intricate shape of the RV in MRI-based RV mass estimation. We show that the algorithm offers improved reliability and accuracy compared with the conventional approach.
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2021 Feb 1;320(2):H912-H922.
