Functional Strain-Line Pattern in the Human Left Ventricle

Gianni Pedrizzetti, Elisabeth Kraigher-Krainer, Alessio De Luca, Giuseppe Caracciolo, Jan O. Mangual, Amil Shah, Loira Toncelli, Federico Domenichini, Giovanni Tonti, Giorgio Galanti, Partho P. Sengupta, Jagat Narula, and Scott Solomon
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 048103 – Published 26 July 2012

Abstract

Analysis of deformations in terms of principal directions appears well suited for biological tissues that present an underlying anatomical structure of fiber arrangement. We applied this concept here to study deformation of the beating heart in vivo analyzing 30 subjects that underwent accurate three-dimensional echocardiographic recording of the left ventricle. Results show that strain develops predominantly along the principal direction with a much smaller transversal strain, indicating an underlying anisotropic, one-dimensional contractile activity. The strain-line pattern closely resembles the helical anatomical structure of the heart muscle. These findings demonstrate that cardiac contraction occurs along spatially variable paths and suggest a potential clinical significance of the principal strain concept for the assessment of mechanical cardiac function. The same concept can help in characterizing the relation between functional and anatomical properties of biological tissues, as well as fiber-reinforced engineered materials.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 24 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.048103

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Gianni Pedrizzetti1,2, Elisabeth Kraigher-Krainer3, Alessio De Luca4, Giuseppe Caracciolo2, Jan O. Mangual5, Amil Shah3, Loira Toncelli4, Federico Domenichini5, Giovanni Tonti6, Giorgio Galanti4, Partho P. Sengupta2, Jagat Narula2, and Scott Solomon3

  • 1Dipartimento Ingegneria e Architettura, Università di Trieste, Italy
  • 2Department of Cardiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
  • 3Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • 4Sport Medicine Center, University of Firenze, Italy
  • 5Dipartimento Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Università di Firenze, Italy
  • 6Dipartimento Cardiologia, Ospedale SS. Annunziata, Sulmona, AQ, Italy

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 109, Iss. 4 — 27 July 2012

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×