A team of University of Minnesota surgeons and biomedical engineers are using new technologies to create a digital library of human heart specimens and enable 3D computer modeling and mapping of hearts. This capability could let researchers see the structure and function of cardiac tissue, enabling them to better understand variations in the heart and how it changes in the presence of disease. It could also aid in the design of new cardiac devices. The University of Minnesota techniques use contrast-computed tomography, which uses dyes in the imaging process to allow the blood vessels and other structures to be better seen. The researchers are using human heart specimens from organ donors that have been found not to be usable for transplant. They published their work as a Journal of Visualized Experiments video article. (EurekAlert)(http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/tjov-sst041613.php)
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
New Techniques Perform 3D Modeling of the Human Heart
