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The Three-Dimensional Heart
Professor Florence Sheehan's Cardiovascular Research and Training Center at the University of Washington (CVRTC) has developed software packages that create three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of the chambers and valves of the in vivo human heart derived from analysis of 3D echocardiographic images.
Three-Dimensional Heart software is available for academic and nonprofit research use at no cost from Ventripoint. Use is permitted solely for research or education (non-commercial) purposes and associated research may not be funded by any for-profit entity. Academic and nonprofit research hospitals may license the software to conduct their own analysis or analyze their own images (reviewing images and manually tracing the borders of the cardiac structures) and have the CVRTC perform three-dimensional reconstruction of heart chambers from surface landmark data using the piecewise smooth subdivision method (FullFit) as availability permits. A small service fee will be charged for the CVRTC analysis.
Three-Dimensional Heart Software
CatalogFit software estimates the three dimensional (3D) surface of the right ventricular endocardium from sparse input data. It provides a quick estimate of the surface of a heart chamber for the purpose of measuring its volume only. The input data required are the x,y,z coordinates of points on the right ventricle (RV) manually traced from images obtained in multiple views or planes. CatalogFit uses a database of RV surfaces reconstructed the piecewise smooth subdivision surface method of the expected variations in RV size and shape to estimate the surface given the input data. The abilitiy to estimate the RB of a new patient requires a catalog embodying expected variations in RB shape for that patient’s diagnosis.
Tracking software and procedures for calibrating a magnetic field tracking system, testing for the presence of ferro-magnetic interference in the environment, and for acquiring a three dimensional echocardiographic dataset.
User interface software is used for reviewing images, selecting the end diastolic and end systolic frames, manually tracing heart borders, editing traced borders, displaying 3D surface reconstructions, and displaying mesh generated heart borders on the images.
FullFit software performs three dimensional reconstruction of heart chambers producing the three dimensional surface of the heart and its volume. FullFit uses the piecewise smooth subdivision surface method, the only method shown to provide anatomically accurate three dimensional shape representation. Models are available for the left ventricle, right ventricle, right atrium, and left atrium. Data from any imaging modality can be input. The input required for the left ventricle consists of at least five well distributed left ventricular borders, twenty five well distributed points on the mitral annulus, three points on the mitral annulus, three points around the aortic valve, and one point on the left ventricular apex. A license to MatLab is required to operate FullFit. FullFit employs methods covered by US Patent 5,889,524.
Once the Fullfit surface has been generated, analysis of the mitral valve shape (MitralApp software), the left ventricle shape (Center Axis software), and/or the left ventricle function (CenterSurface) can be conducted..
3D surface reconstructions of normal and dilated
left ventricles, displaying the mitral and aortic valve annuli,
the papillary muscles, and chordae tendineae.
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MitralApp software analyzes the dimensions of mitral annulus components
and their relative geometry from 3D data. Parameters of the mitral annulus
include annular area, perimeter length, eccentricity, height, motion,
peak-to-peak span, and valley-to-valley span. Parameters of the papillary
muscles include location and length. Parameters of the chordae include
length, angle to the annulus plane, and interchordal angle. The input
to the software is the x, y, and z coordinates of at least 25 points on,
and distributed evenly around, the mitral annulus.
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CenterSurface
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CenterSurface software measures regional wall thickness from 3D
reconstructions of the left ventricular endocardial and epicardial surfaces,
for use in computing regional wall thickening as a parameter of ventricular
function. The algorithm computes a medial surface (CenterSurface) midway
between the two input surfaces, and then constructs chords orthogonal
to the CenterSurface. The length of each chord when extended to its intersections
with the input surfaces is the measure of local orthogonal wall thickness.
The method can also be used to measure local distance between two 3D surfaces,
to analyze motion over time or difference in 3D shape. The input to the
software is two 3D surfaces of the same chamber of the same person's heart,
generated using FullFit.
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Cutaway view of reconstructions of the LV endocardium
and epicardium and the CenterSurface (arrow).
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Center Axis
Regional left ventricular shape analysis by the
center axis method.
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CenterAxis software measures regional shape of the left ventricle
in terms of radial distance from a long axis (center axis) constructed
from the centroid of the mitral annulus to the most distant point on the
left ventricle. Regional shape is analyzed as radial distance to the ventricular
surface from the center axis. To normalize for heart size, the radial
distances are divided by center axis length. For orientation the centroid
of the aorta at the level of the aortic valve is placed at 90 degrees.
The left ventricle is then divided into 16 segments. Regional shape in
each segment is calculated as the mean radial distance of the points lying
within that segment to the center axis. The input to the software is a
3D reconstruction of the left ventricle generated using FullFit.
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| Academic License |
Available to academic and nonprofit researchers at no cost from Ventripoint. Three Dimensional Heart Software use is permitted solely for research or education (non-commercial) purposes and associated research may not be funded by any for-profit entity. One agreement is used to license CatalogFit, FullFit, User Interface, or Tracking software and is available from Ventripoint.
MitralApp, CenterAxis, and FullFit also require MATLAB® mathematical modeling software, which you can purchase separately from The MathWorks, Inc. store. |
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| For Descriptive Information or to inquire about UW running analysis: |
Principal Investigator/Author
Florence Sheehan, MD
Research Professor in Medicine/Cardiology
Director, Cardiovascular Research and Training Center
Email: sheehan@u.washington.edu
Research Website: http://depts.washington.edu/cvrtc/
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| Information provided by: |
UW TechTransfer
4311 11th Avenue NE, Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98105-4608
Phone: (206) 543-0905
Fax: (206) 616-3322
Email: license@u.washington.edu
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