Cardiovascular diseases remain America's primary killer by a large margin, claiming the lives of more Americans than the next two main causes of death combined (cancer and pulmonary complications). In particular, coronary artery disease (CAD) is by far the most lethal, causing 17% of all (cardiac related or not) deaths every year. One of the main reasons for this high death toll is the severe lack of effective and accessible imaging tools upon anomaly detected on the electrocardiogram, especially at the early stages when CAD can be stabilized with appropriate pharmacological regimen. On the other hand, arrhythmias refer to the disruption of the natural heart rhythm. Cardiac arrhythmias lead to a significant number of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This irregular heart rhythm causes the heart to suddenly stop pumping blood. Atrial pathologies are the most common arrhythmias with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter being the most prevalent.

Chapter Contents:

• Abstract
• 28.1 Myocardial elastography
• 28.1.1 Introduction
• 28.1.2 Mechanical deformation of normal and ischemic or infarcted myocardium
• 28.1.3 Myocardial elastography
• 28.1.3.1 2D strain estimation and imaging
• 28.1.3.2 3D strain estimation and imaging
• 28.1.3.3 PBME performance assessment
• 28.1.3.4 Compounding
• 28.1.4 Simulations
• 28.1.5 Phantoms
• 28.1.6 Myocardial ischemia and infarction detection in canines in vivo
• 28.1.6.1 Ischemic model
• 28.1.6.2 Infarct model
• 28.1.7 Validation of myocardial elastography against CT angiography
• 28.2 Electromechanical wave imaging
• 28.2.1 Cardiac arrhythmias
• 28.2.2 Clinical diagnosis of atrial arrhythmias
• 28.2.3 Treatment of atrial arrhythmias
• 28.2.4 Electromechanical wave imaging
• 28.2.4.1 The cardiac electromechanics
• 28.2.4.2 Electromechanical wave imaging
• 28.2.4.3 Treatment guidance capability of EWI
• 28.2.5 Imaging the electromechanics of the heart
• 28.2.6 EWI sequences
• 28.2.6.1 The ACT sequence
• 28.2.6.2 The TUAS sequence
• 28.2.6.3 Single-heartbeat EWI and optimal strain estimation
• 28.2.7 Characterization of atrial arrhythmias in canines in vivo
• 28.2.7.1 Electrical mapping
• 28.2.7.2 Validation
• 28.2.8 EWI in normal human subjects and with arrhythmias
• Acknowledgments
• References

Inspec keywords: electrocardiography; cardiovascular system; biomechanics; medical image processing; diseases

Other keywords: irregular heart rhythm; electrocardiogram; coronary artery disease; myocardial elastography; electromechanical wave imaging; atrial pathologies; cardiac arrhythmias; atrial fibrillation; cardiovascular diseases; atrial flutter

Subjects: Biology and medical computing; Electrodiagnostics and other electrical measurement techniques; Optical, image and video signal processing; Bioelectric signals; Electrical activity in neurophysiological processes; Patient diagnostic methods and instrumentation; Mechanical properties of tissues and organs; Computer vision and image processing techniques