Background-Insufficient techniques exist for rapid and reliable phenotype characterization of genetically manipulated mouse models of cardiac dysfunction. We developed a new, robust, 3-dimensional echocardiography (3D-echo) technique and hypothesized that this 3D-echo technique is as accurate as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histology for assessment of left ventricular (LV) volume, ejection fraction, mass, and infarct size in normal and chronically infarcted mice. Methods and Results-Using a high-frequency, 7/15-MHz, linear-array ultrasound transducer, we acquired ECG and respiratory-gated, 500-m consecutive short-axis slices of the murine heart within 4 minutes. The short-axis movies were reassembled off-line in a 3D matrix by using the measured platform locations to position each slice in 3D. Epicardial and endocardial heart contours were manually traced, and a B-spline surface was fitted to the delineated image curves to reconstruct the heart volumes.

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According to a study conducted by Bean et al. in 2009 [1], poor structural engagement between the vehicle and its collision partner resulted in the largest number of fatalities to belted non-ejected occupants in frontal crashes involving late-model vehicles, excluding exceedingly severe crashes and/or anomalies. Motor vehicle crashes that demonstrate such poor structural engagement include corner impacts, oblique crashes, impacts with narrow objects, and heavy vehicle underrides. By contrast, few if any of these 122 fatal crashes were full-frontal or offset-frontal impacts with good structural engagement, unless the crashes were of extreme severity or the occupants were exceptionally vulnerable. As a result of the NHTSA study, the agency stated its intent to further analyze small overlap and oblique frontal crashes in its Vehicle Safety Rulemaking & Research Priority Plan 2009-2011 published in November 2009 [2]. To better understand the injuries, injury source, and occupant kinematics in these small overlap impacts (SOI) and oblique offset impacts (Oblique), NHTSA performed a review of motor vehicle crashes included in the Crash Injury

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