Quantitative Interpretation of Myocardial Fiber Structure in the Left and Right Ventricle of an Equine Heart Using Diffusion Tensor Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

In this study an equine heart of a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood is scanned using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-CMR) to perform quantitative analysis on myocyte orientation in the left and right ventricular free wall (LVFW and RVFW) as well as in the interventricular septum (IVS). Transmural helical angle profiles are obtained at basal, mid-ventricular and apical height. This equine heart with high transmural DT-CMR resolution revealed that the transmural helix angle range in the RVFW is approximately twice as large as the one in the LVFW. Moreover, the transmural helix angle distributions in the IVS could be separated into an RV and LV side with gradients in fiber angle orientation that were comparable to the RVFW and LVFW, respectively.