Osama M. Abdullah1,2, Stavros G. Drakos3,
Divya Ratan Verma3, Josef Stehlik3, Abdallah G. Kfoury3,
Craig H. Selzman3, Craig Myrick4, Greg Russel4,
Dean Y. Li3, Edward W. Hsu1
1Bioengineering, University
of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 2Small Animal Core
Research, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 3UTAH
Cardiac Transplant Program, University of Utah & Intermountain Medical Center,
Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 4Intermountain Donor Services,
Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Diffusion tensor imaging was used to characterize heart specimens from normal donors and chronic heart failure, which via histology is known to include increased interstitial fibrosis, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and reduced microvascular density. Results show that failing hearts have decreased fractional anisotropy, but increased mean, longitudinal, and axial diffusivities. These findings are consistent with the histopathology and demonstrate a potential role for DTI in characterizing the failing human heart.