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Abstract #0729

Cardiac Purkinje Fiber Imaging: The First Instance of in Situ Visualization of the Conduction Path Using MR Microscopy

Min Sig Hwang1, Katja Odening2, Ohad Ziv2, Bum-Rak Choi2, Gideon Koren2, John R. Forder1

1McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; 2Cardiovascular Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital Alert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States


In this study, we performed high resolution MR imaging using a 17.6 T magnet to demonstrate the cadiac conduction pathways as well as anatomical details of isolated rabbit hearts. The volume rendered images from the original 3D MR data, achieving a 35 m in-plane resolution and generating an adequate T2*-weighted image constrast, made it possible to non-invasively and reproducibly trace the conduction paths in the left and right ventricles, as well as to describe the micro-anatomical make-up of the whole heart.