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Hemispherical photoacoustic imaging of myocardial infarction: in vivo detection and monitoring

  • Cardiac
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Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to demonstrate the capacity for noninvasive localisation and characterisation of myocardial infarction (MI) in vivo using a hemispherical photoacoustic imaging (PAI) system. MI remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To enable optimal treatment of patients, timely and accurate diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring is critical.

Methods

Ischaemia was induced in Balb/c mice by ligation of the left anterior descending artery. The hemispherical PAI system, equipped with 128 ultrasonic transducers spirally distributed on the surface, along with parallel data acquisition, was applied for imaging of the mouse heart.

Results

Our study showed that hemispherical PAI can delineate thoracic vessels and the morphology of the entire heart. Longitudinal PAI images revealed gradual expansion of the infarcted area along with necrosis and fibrosis, which were quantitatively validated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. After MI modelling, the photoacoustic (PA) signal intensity decreased by 399.1 ± 56.3 (p < 0.001), a ~2.5-fold reduction compared to that of healthy cardiac tissue. The calculated size of the enlarged heart, 10.4 ± 6.0 mm2 (p < 0.001), represents an increase of ~18% versus that of a healthy heart.

Conclusions

PAI enables MI diagnosis and injury localisation with its capabilities for both deep organ imaging and lesion region differentiation.

Key Points

• Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), combining optical absorption and ultrasonic resolution, can delineate cardiac anatomy.

• PAI can diagnose myocardial infarction lesions with 10 mm imaging depth in vivo.

• Quantified results are in excellent agreement with enzyme and histological examinations.

• PAI can serve as a complementary modality to SPECT and ultrasound imaging.

• This study will encourage further PAI development for clinical use.

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Abbreviations

MI:

Myocardial infarction

SPECT:

Single-photon emission computed tomography

US:

Ultrasound

PA:

Photoacoustic

PAI:

Photoacoustic imaging

ROI:

Region of interest

sO2 :

Oxygen saturation

cTnT:

Cardiac troponin T

TTC:

Triphenyltetrazolium chloride

LVIDd:

Left ventricular internal diameter diastole

LVIDs:

Left ventricular internal diameter systole

LVEF:

Left ventricular ejection fraction

LVFS:

Left ventricular fraction shortening

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (81571744 & 81601489), the National Basic Research Program of China (863 Program 2015AA020502), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20720170065 & 20720170036), and the Science Foundation of Fujian Province (no. 2014Y2004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnosis & Center for Molecular Imaging and Translational Medicine, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiang’an South Road, Xiang’an District, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian Province, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Lv, Ya Peng, Shi Li, Zhide Guo, Qingliang Zhao, Xianzhong Zhang & Liming Nie

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  1. Jing Lv
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  2. Ya Peng
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  3. Shi Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liming Nie.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Liming Nie, PhD.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

Yeda Chen kindly provided statistical advice for this manuscript. No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Ethical approval

Approval from the institutional animal care committee was obtained.

Methodology

• Prospective

• Experimental

• Performed at one institution

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Lv, J., Peng, Y., Li, S. et al. Hemispherical photoacoustic imaging of myocardial infarction: in vivo detection and monitoring. Eur Radiol 28, 2176–2183 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5209-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5209-x

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