Generating anatomical models of the heart and the aorta from medical images for personalized physiological simulations

The anatomy and motion of the heart and the aorta are essential for patient-specific simulations of cardiac electrophysiology, wall mechanics and hemodynamics. Within the European integrated project euHeart, algorithms have been developed that allow to efficiently generate patient-specific anatomical models from medical images from multiple imaging modalities. These models, for instance, account for myocardial deformation, cardiac wall motion, and patient-specific tissue information like myocardial scar location. Furthermore, integration of algorithms for anatomy extraction and physiological simulations has been brought forward. Physiological simulations are linked closer to anatomical models by encoding tissue properties, like the muscle fibers, into segmentation meshes. Biophysical constraints are also utilized in combination with image analysis to assess tissue properties. Both examples show directions of how physiological simulations could provide new challenges and stimuli for image analysis research in the future.

Down's syndrome with 47,XX,+21-47,XX,+mar mosaicism

A four-year-old girl with typical Down's syndrome is described. She has 47,XX,+21 karyotype in skin and lymphocytes and 47,XX,+mar karyotype in some lymphocytes. Autoradiography and fluorescent analyses have failed to identify the +mar chromosome which has the appearance of a `D' chromosome but which may involve a translocation to a chromosome No. 21. However, the mechanisms of its formation and its significance are not certain.

Double monosomy mosaicism (45,X-45, XX,21-) in a retarded child with multiple congenital malformations

Double monosomy mosaicism was observed in a three-year-old girl who had mental and physical retardation. Routine blood-lymphocyte and bone-marrow chromosome studies showed an apparent 45, X pattern, which was confirmed by autoradiographic studies with tritiated thymidine. Routine and fluorescent chromosome analyses from bilateral skin biopsies revealed a 45,XX,21– karyotype, which was consistent with the positive sex-chromatin pattern in these fibroblasts as well as in the buccal smear and hair-root-sheath cells. Although her clinical features bore some resemblance to patients with Turner’s syndrome and to patients with G monosomy, our patient did not closely fit either of these syndromes.

Trisomy E (18) syndrome: clinical spectrum in 12 new cases, including chromosome autoradiography in 4

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