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2D Projection Maps of WSS and OSI Reveal Distinct Spatiotemporal Changes in Hemodynamics in the Murine Aorta during Ageing and Atherosclerosis. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9121856. [PMID: 34944672 PMCID: PMC8698968 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9121856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Growth, ageing and atherosclerotic plaque development alter the biomechanical forces acting on the vessel wall. However, monitoring the detailed local changes in wall shear stress (WSS) at distinct sites of the murine aortic arch over time has been challenging. Here, we studied the temporal and spatial changes in flow, WSS, oscillatory shear index (OSI) and elastic properties of healthy wildtype (WT, n = 5) and atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe-/-, n = 6) mice during ageing and atherosclerosis using high-resolution 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Spatially resolved 2D projection maps of WSS and OSI of the complete aortic arch were generated, allowing the pixel-wise statistical analysis of inter- and intragroup hemodynamic changes over time and local correlations between WSS, pulse wave velocity (PWV), plaque and vessel wall characteristics. The study revealed converse differences of local hemodynamic profiles in healthy WT and atherosclerotic Apoe-/- mice, and we identified the circumferential WSS as potential marker of plaque size and composition in advanced atherosclerosis and the radial strain as a potential marker for vascular elasticity. Two-dimensional (2D) projection maps of WSS and OSI, including statistical analysis provide a powerful tool to monitor local aortic hemodynamics during ageing and atherosclerosis. The correlation of spatially resolved hemodynamics and plaque characteristics could significantly improve our understanding of the impact of hemodynamics on atherosclerosis, which may be key to understand plaque progression towards vulnerability.
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Winter P, Andelovic K, Kampf T, Hansmann J, Jakob PM, Bauer WR, Zernecke A, Herold V. Simultaneous measurements of 3D wall shear stress and pulse wave velocity in the murine aortic arch. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson 2021; 23:34. [PMID: 33731147 PMCID: PMC7972216 DOI: 10.1186/s12968-021-00725-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Wall shear stress (WSS) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are important parameters to characterize blood flow in the vessel wall. Their quantification with flow-sensitive phase-contrast (PC) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), however, is time-consuming. Furthermore, the measurement of WSS requires high spatial resolution, whereas high temporal resolution is necessary for PWV measurements. For these reasons, PWV and WSS are challenging to measure in one CMR session, making it difficult to directly compare these parameters. By using a retrospective approach with a flexible reconstruction framework, we here aimed to simultaneously assess both PWV and WSS in the murine aortic arch from the same 4D flow measurement. METHODS Flow was measured in the aortic arch of 18-week-old wildtype (n = 5) and ApoE-/- mice (n = 5) with a self-navigated radial 4D-PC-CMR sequence. Retrospective data analysis was used to reconstruct the same dataset either at low spatial and high temporal resolution (PWV analysis) or high spatial and low temporal resolution (WSS analysis). To assess WSS, the aortic lumen was labeled by semi-automatically segmenting the reconstruction with high spatial resolution. WSS was determined from the spatial velocity gradients at the lumen surface. For calculation of the PWV, segmentation data was interpolated along the temporal dimension. Subsequently, PWV was quantified from the through-plane flow data using the multiple-points transit-time method. Reconstructions with varying frame rates and spatial resolutions were performed to investigate the influence of spatiotemporal resolution on the PWV and WSS quantification. RESULTS 4D flow measurements were conducted in an acquisition time of only 35 min. Increased peak flow and peak WSS values and lower errors in PWV estimation were observed in the reconstructions with high temporal resolution. Aortic PWV was significantly increased in ApoE-/- mice compared to the control group (1.7 ± 0.2 versus 2.6 ± 0.2 m/s, p < 0.001). Mean WSS magnitude values averaged over the aortic arch were (1.17 ± 0.07) N/m2 in wildtype mice and (1.27 ± 0.10) N/m2 in ApoE-/- mice. CONCLUSION The post processing algorithm using the flexible reconstruction framework developed in this study permitted quantification of global PWV and 3D-WSS in a single acquisition. The possibility to assess both parameters in only 35 min will markedly improve the analyses and information content of in vivo measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Winter
- Experimental Physiks V, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany.
- Medical Clinic and Policlinic I, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Oberdürrbacher Straße 6, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Kristina Andelovic
- Experimental Physiks V, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straße 2, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Kampf
- Experimental Physiks V, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straße 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jan Hansmann
- Institute of Electrical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS), Ignaz-Schön-Straße 11, 97421, Schweinfurt, Germany
| | - Peter Michael Jakob
- Experimental Physiks V, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer
- Experimental Physiks V, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straße 2, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alma Zernecke
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straße 2, 97080, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Volker Herold
- Experimental Physiks V, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
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Tang M, Hong L, Li H, Chen W, Tai L, Minshall R, Huang W, Chen J. Stiffness of aortic arch and carotid arteries increases in ApoE-knockout mice with high-fat diet: evidence from echocardiography. Am J Transl Res 2021; 13:1352-1364. [PMID: 33841661 PMCID: PMC8014403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Arterial stiffness is an effective predictor of atherosclerosis. Measurement of pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is a gold-standard approach to study arterial stiffness. This study aims to examine arterial stiffness and heart functions via echocardiography at an early stage of atherosclerosis. A model of atherosclerosis in ApoE-knockout (ApoE-/- ) mice fed on high-fat diet (HFD) was used, with normal chow diet (ND) as a control. Stiffness of aortic arch and carotid arteries and left ventricular (LV) systolic/diastolic functions were measured by echocardiography. The plasma cholesterol levels and atherosclerotic plaque areas in the aortas were measured. The PWV values of aortic arch and carotid arteries were compared at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks with different diets. Compared with ND mice, PWV values in aortic arch and carotid arteries were significantly increased in HFD mice after 8 weeks (Aortic arch: 516.65 ± 216.89 cm/s vs. 192.53 ± 71.71 cm/s; Carotid arteries: 514.26 ± 211.01 cm/s vs. 188.03 ± 75.14 cm/s, respectively; both P < 0.01) accompanied by the decrease in LV systolic/diastolic functions. These were well correlated with the increase in plasma cholesterol levels. Echo-based PWV measurement in the aortic arch was found more sensitive to predict atherosclerosis than in the carotid arteries in ApoE-/- mice. Measuring aortic arch PWV via echocardiography could represent a new diagnostic strategy for early detection of atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Tang
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing 400016, China
| | - Liang Hong
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Haibin Li
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
- Department of Pathology and Institute of Precision Medicine, Jining Medical UniversityJining 272067, China
| | - Wanshi Chen
- Department of Cardiology, The Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing 400014, China
| | - Leon Tai
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Richard Minshall
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing 400016, China
| | - Jiwang Chen
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL 60612, USA
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Andelovic K, Winter P, Jakob PM, Bauer WR, Herold V, Zernecke A. Evaluation of Plaque Characteristics and Inflammation Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Biomedicines 2021; 9:185. [PMID: 33673124 PMCID: PMC7917750 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9020185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized arteries, characterized by the growth of atherosclerotic lesions (plaques). These plaques often develop at inner curvatures of arteries, branchpoints, and bifurcations, where the endothelial wall shear stress is low and oscillatory. In conjunction with other processes such as lipid deposition, biomechanical factors lead to local vascular inflammation and plaque growth. There is also evidence that low and oscillatory shear stress contribute to arterial remodeling, entailing a loss in arterial elasticity and, therefore, an increased pulse-wave velocity. Although altered shear stress profiles, elasticity and inflammation are closely intertwined and critical for plaque growth, preclinical and clinical investigations for atherosclerosis mostly focus on the investigation of one of these parameters only due to the experimental limitations. However, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been demonstrated to be a potent tool which can be used to provide insights into a large range of biological parameters in one experimental session. It enables the evaluation of the dynamic process of atherosclerotic lesion formation without the need for harmful radiation. Flow-sensitive MRI provides the assessment of hemodynamic parameters such as wall shear stress and pulse wave velocity which may replace invasive and radiation-based techniques for imaging of the vascular function and the characterization of early plaque development. In combination with inflammation imaging, the analyses and correlations of these parameters could not only significantly advance basic preclinical investigations of atherosclerotic lesion formation and progression, but also the diagnostic clinical evaluation for early identification of high-risk plaques, which are prone to rupture. In this review, we summarize the key applications of magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of plaque characteristics through flow sensitive and morphological measurements. The simultaneous measurements of functional and structural parameters will further preclinical research on atherosclerosis and has the potential to fundamentally improve the detection of inflammation and vulnerable plaques in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Andelovic
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
- Experimental Physics V, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany; (P.W.); (P.M.J.); (V.H.)
| | - Patrick Winter
- Experimental Physics V, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany; (P.W.); (P.M.J.); (V.H.)
- Internal Medicine I, Cardiology, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany;
| | - Peter Michael Jakob
- Experimental Physics V, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany; (P.W.); (P.M.J.); (V.H.)
| | - Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer
- Internal Medicine I, Cardiology, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany;
| | - Volker Herold
- Experimental Physics V, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany; (P.W.); (P.M.J.); (V.H.)
| | - Alma Zernecke
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
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Nabeel PM, Kiran VR, Joseph J, Abhidev VV, Sivaprakasam M. Local Pulse Wave Velocity: Theory, Methods, Advancements, and Clinical Applications. IEEE Rev Biomed Eng 2019; 13:74-112. [PMID: 31369386 DOI: 10.1109/rbme.2019.2931587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Local pulse wave velocity (PWV) is evolving as one of the important determinants of arterial hemodynamics, localized vessel stiffening associated with several pathologies, and a host of other cardiovascular events. Although PWV was introduced over a century ago, only in recent decades, due to various technological advancements, has emphasis been directed toward its measurement from a single arterial section or from piecewise segments of a target arterial section. This emerging worldwide trend in the exploration of instrumental solutions for local PWV measurement has produced several invasive and noninvasive methods. As of yet, however, a univocal opinion on the ideal measurement method has not emerged. Neither have there been extensive comparative studies on the accuracy of the available methods. Recognizing this reality, makes apparent the need to establish guideline-recommended standards for the measurement methods and reference values, without which clinical application cannot be pursued. This paper enumerates all major local PWV measurement methods while pinpointing their salient methodological considerations and emphasizing the necessity of global standardization. Further, a summary of the advancements in measuring modalities and clinical applications is provided. Additionally, a detailed discussion on the minimally explored concept of incremental local PWV is presented along with suggestions of future research questions.
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Di Lascio N, Kusmic C, Rossi C, Solini A, Faita F. Alterations in Carotid Parameters in ApoE-/- Mice Treated with a High-Fat Diet: A Micro-ultrasound Analysis. ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE & BIOLOGY 2019; 45:980-988. [PMID: 30712947 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2018.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Information on the common carotid artery and cerebral microcirculation can be obtained by micro-ultrasound (µUS). The aim of the study described here was to investigate high-fat diet-induced alterations in vascular parameters in ApoE-/- mice. Twenty-two ApoE-/- male mice were examined by µUS and divided into the standard diet (ApoE-/-SD) and high-fat diet (ApoE-/-HF) groups. The µUS examination was repeated after 4 mo (T1). Carotid stiffness, reflection magnitude and reflection index were measured; the amplitudes of the first (W1) and second (W2) local maxima, the local minimum (Wb) and the reflection index (RIWIA = Wb/W1) were assessed with wave intensity analysis. At T1, ApoE-/-HF mice had increased carotid stiffness (1.48 [0.36] vs. 1.88 [0.51]) and reflection magnitude (0.89 [0.07] vs. 0.94 [0.07]) values. Longitudinal comparisons highlighted increases in carotid stiffness for ApoE-/-HF mice (from 1.37 [0.25] to 1.88 [0.51] m/s) but not for ApoE-/-SD mice (from 1.40 [0.62] to 1.48 [0.36] m/s). ApoE-/-HF mice exhibited carotid artery stiffening and increased wave reflections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Di Lascio
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, Pisa, Italy; Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
| | | | - Chiara Rossi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Anna Solini
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular, and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Peper ES, Strijkers GJ, Gazzola K, Potters WV, Motaal AG, Luirink IK, Hutten BA, Wiegman A, van Ooij P, van den Born BJH, Nederveen AJ, Coolen BF. Regional assessment of carotid artery pulse wave velocity using compressed sensing accelerated high temporal resolution 2D CINE phase contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson 2018; 20:86. [PMID: 30567566 PMCID: PMC6300923 DOI: 10.1186/s12968-018-0499-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) allows for non-invasive assessment of arterial stiffness by means of measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV). PWV can be calculated from the time shift between two time-resolved flow curves acquired at two locations within an arterial segment. These flow curves can be derived from two-dimensional CINE phase contrast CMR (2D CINE PC CMR). While CMR-derived PWV measurements have proven to be accurate for the aorta, this is more challenging for smaller arteries such as the carotids due to the need for both high spatial and temporal resolution. In this work, we present a novel method that combines retrospectively gated 2D CINE PC CMR, high temporal binning of data and compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction to accomplish a temporal resolution of 4 ms. This enables accurate flow measurements and assessment of PWV in regional carotid artery segments. METHODS Retrospectively gated 2D CINE PC CMR data acquired in the carotid artery was binned into cardiac frames of 4 ms length, resulting in an incoherently undersampled ky-t-space with a mean undersampling factor of 5. The images were reconstructed by a non-linear CS reconstruction using total variation over time as a sparsifying transform. PWV values were calculated from flow curves by using foot-to-foot and cross-correlation methods. Our method was validated against ultrasound measurements in a flow phantom setup representing the carotid artery. Additionally, PWV values of two groups of 23 young (30 ± 3 years, 12 [52%] women) and 10 elderly (62 ± 10 years, 5 [50%] women) healthy subjects were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. RESULTS Our proposed method produced very similar flow curves as those measured using ultrasound at 1 ms temporal resolution. Reliable PWV estimation proved possible for transit times down to 7.5 ms. Furthermore, significant differences in PWV values between healthy young and elderly subjects were found (4.7 ± 1.0 m/s and 7.9 ± 2.4 m/s, respectively; p < 0.001) in accordance with literature. CONCLUSIONS Retrospectively gated 2D CINE PC CMR with CS allows for high spatiotemporal resolution flow measurements and accurate regional carotid artery PWV calculations. We foresee this technique will be valuable in protocols investigating early development of carotid atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva S Peper
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Gustav J Strijkers
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Katja Gazzola
- Department of Vascular Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Wouter V Potters
- Department of Neurology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Ilse K Luirink
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Barbara A Hutten
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Albert Wiegman
- Department of Pediatrics Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Pim van Ooij
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Bert-Jan H van den Born
- Department of Vascular Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Aart J Nederveen
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Bram F Coolen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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Herold V, Herz S, Winter P, Gutjahr FT, Andelovic K, Bauer WR, Jakob PM. Assessment of local pulse wave velocity distribution in mice using k-t BLAST PC-CMR with semi-automatic area segmentation. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson 2017; 19:77. [PMID: 29037199 PMCID: PMC5641989 DOI: 10.1186/s12968-017-0382-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Local aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure for vascular stiffness and has a predictive value for cardiovascular events. Ultra high field CMR scanners allow the quantification of local PWV in mice, however these systems are yet unable to monitor the distribution of local elasticities. METHODS In the present study we provide a new accelerated method to quantify local aortic PWV in mice with phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (PC-CMR) at 17.6 T. Based on a k-t BLAST (Broad-use Linear Acquisition Speed-up Technique) undersampling scheme, total measurement time could be reduced by a factor of 6. The fast data acquisition enables to quantify the local PWV at several locations along the aortic blood vessel based on the evaluation of local temporal changes in blood flow and vessel cross sectional area. To speed up post processing and to eliminate operator bias, we introduce a new semi-automatic segmentation algorithm to quantify cross-sectional areas of the aortic vessel. The new methods were applied in 10 eight-month-old mice (4 C57BL/6J-mice and 6 ApoE (-/-)-mice) at 12 adjacent locations along the abdominal aorta. RESULTS Accelerated data acquisition and semi-automatic post-processing delivered reliable measures for the local PWV, similiar to those obtained with full data sampling and manual segmentation. No statistically significant differences of the mean values could be detected for the different measurement approaches. Mean PWV values were elevated for the ApoE (-/-)-group compared to the C57BL/6J-group (3.5 ± 0.7 m/s vs. 2.2 ± 0.4 m/s, p < 0.01). A more heterogeneous PWV-distribution in the ApoE (-/-)-animals could be observed compared to the C57BL/6J-mice, representing the local character of lesion development in atherosclerosis. CONCLUSION In the present work, we showed that k-t BLAST PC-MRI enables the measurement of the local PWV distribution in the mouse aorta. The semi-automatic segmentation method based on PC-CMR data allowed rapid determination of local PWV. The findings of this study demonstrate the ability of the proposed methods to non-invasively quantify the spatial variations in local PWV along the aorta of ApoE (-/-)-mice as a relevant model of atherosclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volker Herold
- Department of Experimental Physics, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074 Germany
| | - Stefan Herz
- Comprehensive Heart Failure Center/Deutsches Zentrum für Herzinsuffizienz, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Patrick Winter
- Department of Experimental Physics, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074 Germany
| | - Fabian Tobias Gutjahr
- Department of Experimental Physics, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074 Germany
| | - Kristina Andelovic
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Peter Michael Jakob
- Department of Experimental Physics, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074 Germany
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Cardiovascular MRI in Thoracic Aortopathy: A Focused Review of Recent Literature Updates. CURRENT RADIOLOGY REPORTS 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40134-017-0246-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Wu YL, Lo CW. Diverse application of MRI for mouse phenotyping. Birth Defects Res 2017; 109:758-770. [PMID: 28544650 DOI: 10.1002/bdr2.1051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Small animal models, particularly mouse models, of human diseases are becoming an indispensable tool for biomedical research. Studies in animal models have provided important insights into the etiology of diseases and accelerated the development of therapeutic strategies. Detailed phenotypic characterization is essential, both for the development of such animal models and mechanistic studies into disease pathogenesis and testing the efficacy of experimental therapeutics. MRI is a versatile and noninvasive imaging modality with excellent penetration depth, tissue coverage, and soft tissue contrast. MRI, being a multi-modal imaging modality, together with proven imaging protocols and availability of good contrast agents, is ideally suited for phenotyping mutant mouse models. Here we describe the applications of MRI for phenotyping structural birth defects involving the brain, heart, and kidney in mice. The versatility of MRI and its ease of use are well suited to meet the rapidly increasing demands for mouse phenotyping in the coming age of functional genomics. Birth Defects Research 109:758-770, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijen L Wu
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.,Rangos Research Center Animal Imaging Core, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Cecilia W Lo
- Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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