A non-invasive method for estimating regional myocardial contractility in vivo would be of great value in the design and evaluation of new surgical and medical strategies to treat and/or prevent infarction-induced heart failure. As a first step towards developing such a method, an explicit finite element (FE) model-based formal optimization of regional myocardial contractility in a sheep with left ventricular (LV) aneurysm was performed using tagged magnetic resonance (MR) images and cardiac catheterization pressures. From the tagged MR images, 3-dimensional (3D) myocardial strains, LV volumes and geometry for the animal-specific 3D FE model of the LV were calculated, while the LV pressures provided physiological loading conditions. Active material parameters (T max_B and T max_R ) in the non-infarcted myocardium adjacent to the aneurysm (borderzone) and in myocardium remote from the aneurysm were estimated by minimizing the errors between FE model-predicted and measured systolic strains and LV volumes using the successive response surface method for optimization. The significant depression in optimized T max_B relative to T max_R was confirmed by direct ex vivo force measurements from skinned fiber preparations. The optimized values of T max_B and T max_R were not overly sensitive to the passive material parameters specified. The computation time of less than 5 hours associated with our proposed method for estimating regional myocardial contractility in vivo makes it a potentially very useful clinical tool.

Background-Left ventricular remodeling after postero-basal myocardial infarction can lead to ischemic mitral regurgitation. This occurs as a consequence of leaflet tethering due to posterior papillary muscle displacement.

Background Endoventricular patch plasty (Dor) is used to reduce left ventricular (LV) volume after myocardial infarction (MI) and subsequent LV remodeling. Methods and Results End-diastolic and end-systolic pressure volume and Starling relationships were measured and magnetic resonance (MRI) images with non-invasive tags used to calculate 3D myocardial strain in six sheep 2 weeks before, and 2 and 6 weeks after the Dor procedure. These experimental results were previously reported. The imaging data from one sheep was incomplete. Animal specific finite element (FE) models were created from the remaining five animals using MRI images and LV pressure obtained at early diastolic filling. FE models were optimized using 3D strain and used to determine systolic material properties, Tmax,skinned-fiber, and diastolic and systolic stress in remote myocardium and borderzone (BZ). Six weeks after Dor procedure, end-diastolic and end-systolic stress in the BZ were substantially reduced. However, although there was a slight increase in Tmax,skinned-fiber in the BZ near the MI at 6 weeks, the change was not significant. Conclusions The Dor procedure decreases end-diastolic and end-systolic stress but fails to improve contractility in the infarct BZ. Future work should focus on measures that will enhance BZ function alone or in combination with surgical remodeling.