Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Ultrasonic Assessment of Myocardial Microstructure
Published on: January 14, 2014
Multimodal Study of Murine Cardiovascular Remodeling: Four-Dimensional Ultrasound and Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Amelya G Fox1, Kelsey E Buonodono1, Allison R Jones1
1Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee.
Insights
This study introduces a new method combining 4D ultrasound and mass spectrometry imaging to analyze cardiovascular disease in mice. This approach offers detailed insights into cardiac function and molecular changes for better disease understanding.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Biomedical Imaging
- Molecular Pathology
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death, involving structural and functional changes in the heart and vasculature.
- Current detection methods for CVD include ultrasound (US) imaging for organ-level analysis and mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) for molecular-level insights.
- Existing techniques lack a combined approach to simultaneously assess cardiovascular hemodynamics, biomechanics, and molecular composition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present an innovative methodology for studying murine cardiac pathophysiology.
- To couple in vivo four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound imaging with ex vivo matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) MSI of the heart.
- To enable comprehensive analysis of cardiovascular structure, function, and molecular changes in disease models.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing 4D ultrasound to capture dynamic volumetric measurements, including radial displacement and strain throughout the cardiac cycle.
- Employing MALDI MSI for untargeted lipidomic analysis of cardiac tissue.
- Integrating US and MSI to assess vessel wall composition, hemodynamics, and biomechanics.
Main Results:
- The combined 4D ultrasound and MALDI MSI methodology allows for detailed quantification of cardiac function and biomechanics.
- MSI provides molecular-level insights into tissue composition, identifying specific lipids, metabolites, peptides, and glycans.
- The integrated approach facilitates the study of structural and functional changes in cardiovascular disease models.
Conclusions:
- This novel integrated imaging approach provides a powerful tool for investigating cardiovascular pathophysiology in preclinical models.
- The methodology enables simultaneous assessment of cardiovascular hemodynamics, biomechanics, and molecular profiles.
- This technique can be adapted to study various cardiovascular diseases by modifying imaging parameters and MSI targets.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Damage in the cardiovascular system can be due to environmental exposure, trauma, drug toxicity, or numerous other factors. As a result, cardiac tissue and vasculature undergo structural changes and display diminished function. The damage and the resulting remodeling can be detected and quantified with ultrasound (US) imaging at the organ level and mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) at the molecular level. This manuscript describes an innovative methodology for studying murine cardiac pathophysiology, coupling in vivo four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound imaging and analysis with ex vivo matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MADLI) MSI of the heart. 4D ultrasound can provide dynamic volumetric measurements, including radial displacement, surface area strain, and longitudinal strain throughout an entire cardiac cycle. In the vasculature, MSI and ultrasound are used to assess vessel wall compositions, hemodynamics, and vessel wall dynamics. The methodology can be tailored to study a myriad of CV diseases by adjusting functional metrics of interest and/or varying MALDI MSI protocol to target specific molecules. MALDI MSI can be used to study lipids, small metabolites, peptides, and glycans. This protocol outlines the use of MALDI MSI for untargeted lipidomic analysis and the use of ultrasound imaging for cardiovascular hemodynamics and biomechanics.
More Related Videos
09:05Assessment of Cardiac Morphological and Functional Changes in Mouse Model of Transverse Aortic Constriction by Echocardiographic Imaging
Published on: June 21, 2016
09:43Multimodal Study of Murine Cardiovascular Remodeling: Four-Dimensional Ultrasound and Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Published on: January 10, 2025
