Right ventricular volume estimation using an ellipsoidal shell model and single-plane magnetic resonance imaging

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Medical Physics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate assessment of right ventricular (RV) volumes is crucial for managing congenital cardiac defects.
• Traditional methods for RV volume calculation can be complex and time-consuming.
• Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging offers non-invasive visualization of cardiac structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of an ellipsoidal shell model for determining RV volumes from single-plane MR imaging.
• To compare MR-based RV volume estimations with contrast ventriculography.
• To assess the correlation between RV and left ventricular (LV) stroke volumes derived from MR data.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 29 patients with congenital cardiac defects and 10 healthy volunteers.
• Single-plane cine MR imaging was used to acquire cardiac data.
• RV volumes were calculated using an ellipsoidal shell model and compared with multislice contrast ventriculography.

Main Results:

• A high correlation (r = 0.97) was observed between MR-based and angiography-based RV volumes.
• The MR-based method demonstrated a slope near unity, indicating good agreement.
• Excellent correlation (r = 0.90) was found between MR-derived right and left stroke volumes.

Conclusions:

• The ellipsoidal shell model provides a reliable method for estimating RV volume using single-plane MR images.
• This approach simplifies RV volume assessment in patients with congenital heart disease.
• Single-plane MR imaging with an ellipsoidal model is a viable alternative for accurate RV volume quantification.