Simulation of the electromechanical activity of the heart using XMR interventional imaging

Abstract

Simulating cardiac electromechanical activity is of great interest for a better understanding of pathologies and therapy planning. Design and validation of such models is difficult due to the lack of clinical data. XMR systems are a new type of interventional facility in which patients can be rapidly transferred between x-ray and MR systems. Our goal is to design and validate an electromechanical model of the myocardium, using this XMR system. The proposed model is computationally fast and uses clinically observable parameters. We present the integration of anatomy, electrophysiology, and motion from patients. Pathologies are introduced in the model and the simulations are compared to measured data. Initial qualitative comparison is encouraging. Quantitative local validation is in progress. Once validated, these models will make it possible to simulate different interventional strategies. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.