[Assessment of the state of implanted extracardiac conduits by NMR-tomography]

The object of the work was to reveal the unique possibilities of a highly effective noninvasive method NMR-tomography in evaluating the functional condition of extracardiac conduits in experiments. Conduit models with a stationary flow of blood and 10 dogs with implanted left ventricular-aortic conduit were studied. The studies were conducted on a Soviet MT-1000 NMR tomograph. In all studies with diverse cross sections a distinct location of the heart and the large blood vessels and a "new" left ventricular outlet tract was achieved. Minute features of the inner architectonics of the pumping chamber and the lining of the conduit were detected which could not be found by the routine methods. The study allowed certain conclusions to be made concerning the promising application of NMR tomography in the cardiosurgical clinic. With the use of the method some recommendations may be given for optimization of the designs of extracardiac conduits.