Osama M. Abdullah1, Ashvin K. George2, Nassir F. Marrouche2, Edward W. Hsu1
1Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 2CARMA Center and Division of Cardiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
The structure of the left atrium (LA) plays an important role in its electrophysiological dynamics, and has been implicated in diseases such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Detailed dissections of the atrial wall transmurally have revealed a complex architecture of overlapping myofibers of different orientations. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has emerged as a non-destructive alternative to histology to study highly ordered tissue structures including the myocardium. The goals of the current study are to determine (a) if DTI is sensitive to the heterogeneous and anisotropic microstructure of the LA, and (b) if DTI can detect alterations of the microstructure following RF ablation procedures, which is commonly used in the treatment of AF.