Abstract #3737

XFM-Guided Approach to Intrapericardial Delivery of Cardiac Therapeutics

Nicole Azene^1,2, Yingli Fu¹, Tina Ehtiati³, Aaron Flammang³, Dorota Anna Kedziorek¹, Jens Guehring⁴, Wesley D. Gilson³, Judy Cook¹, Clifford R. Weiss¹, Kathleen L. Gabrielson², Peter V. Johnston⁵, Dara L. Kraitchman¹

¹Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology & Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Molecular & Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Siemens Corporate Research, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴Siemens Corporate Research, Erlangen, Germany; ⁵Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Traditionally, cardiac cellular therapeutics have been delivered directly to the myocardium or coronary vasculature. An intrapericardial (IP) approach would potentially provide a method for long-term retention of stem cells. In the current study, the feasibility of a fused X-ray-magnetic resonance imaging (XFM) method was explored for delivery of an X-ray visible barium-alginate microcapsule (BaCaps) in swine. XFM-guidance was shown to enhance safety, e.g., provide enhanced soft tissue detail and vessel anatomy, and improve biocompatibility of BaCap delivery. Thus XFM IP delivery of cardiac therapeutics shows promise for the use of BaCaps for allogenic stem cell delivery.