Patent ID: 9678189
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: A61B,G01R,G06T,G16H

Claim:
1. A method for mapping myocardial tissue architecture using magnetic resonance imaging, the steps of the method comprising: a) providing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data acquired from a subject's heart using an MRI system; b) determining from the DTI data, a set of eigenvectors that describe diffusion along a set of Cartesian directions; c) providing an image that depicts an epicardial surface of the subject's heart; d) determining a radial coordinate axis and a circumferential plane using the image that depicts the epicardial surface of the subject's heart; e) determining a longitudinal coordinate axis based on the radial coordinate axis and circumferential plane; f) determining a circumferential coordinate axis based on the radial coordinate axis and the longitudinal coordinate axis; g) producing a fiber architecture matrix (FAM) by projecting the set of eigenvectors onto radial, longitudinal, and circumferential planes in a local coordinate system defined by the determined radial, longitudinal, and circumferential coordinate axes; and h) generating a map representative of myocardial tissue architecture for locations within a region of interest in the subject's heart using the FAM.