Abstract #1204

Dymarkowski S, Sage C, Sunaert S, Peeters R, Claus P, D'hooge J, Rademakers F, Bogaert J

The ventricular myocardium has a complex spatial organization, with muscle fiber orientation varying as a function of transmural location. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may be used to measure this fiber orientation. High angular DTI in an acquisition time of less than 50 minutes and analysis with fiber tractography shows that the mid-wall fibers are mostly oriented concentrically, while epi- and endocardial muscle fiber orientation is mostly diagonal, consistent with known histology. A high angular configuration map reveals that the muscle fibers of the mid-wall cardiac tissue have predominantly a single orientation, while endo- and epicardial fibers have crossing diagonal fibers.