Feasibility of echocardiographic-based assessment of myocardial fiber structure in individual hearts

Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT-MRI) represents an established approach for imaging the complex fiber structure of the heart. However, technical limitations, along with the time and expense required for DT-MR image acquisition, hinder its use as a routine clinical method for obtaining measurements of the intrinsic myocardial structure in individual patients. Methods based on echocardiographic imaging may represent an attractive alternative approach for obtaining intrinsic cardiac fiber structure information that offers the potential for more widespread clinical application. The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of implementing echocardiographic-based methods for imaging the intrinsic cardiac fiber structure of individual hearts.