Statistical Analysis of the Human Cardiac Fiber Architecture from DT-MRI

A statistical atlas of the cardiac fiber architecture is built for the first time with a human dataset of 10 healthy ex vivo hearts acquired using DT-MRI. The atlas is constructed using an efficient semi-automated method where limited interactions are only required to segment the myocardium. All hearts are registered automatically by an efficient and robust non linear registration method. The statistical atlas gives a better understanding of the human cardiac fiber architecture. The study on the global variability of the human cardiac fiber architecture reveals that the fiber orientation is more stable than the laminar sheet orientation. The variability is also consistent across the left ventricular AHA segments. Moreover this atlas could be used for cardiac electromechanical modeling as well as a basis for more precise extrapolation models, essential for in vivo cardiac DT-MRI acquisition.