{"id":10663,"date":"2015-11-17T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T14:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=10663"},"modified":"2015-11-17T00:08:04","modified_gmt":"2015-11-17T06:08:04","slug":"american-heart-association-says-3d-image-may-provide-better-size-match-for-child-heart-transplants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2015\/11\/17\/american-heart-association-says-3d-image-may-provide-better-size-match-for-child-heart-transplants\/","title":{"rendered":"American Heart Association says 3D image may provide better size match for Child Heart Transplants"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Heart Association Meeting Report<\/h2>\n

\"AmericanOrlando, FL<\/strong> – A new 3D computer modeling system may significantly improve a surgeon\u2019s ability to select the best sized donor heart for children receiving heart transplants<\/a>, according to research presented at the American Heart Association\u2019s Scientific Sessions 2015.<\/p>\n

Transplant centers currently assess compatibility of a potential donor heart by comparing the donor weight to the recipient weight and then picking an upper and lower limit based on the size of the patient\u2019s heart on chest X-ray. But the assessment is not precise and variations in size and volume can have a major effect on the recipient\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n

\"Models<\/a>

Models of multiple children\u2019s hearts who were born with congenital heart defects, used for surgical planning. (Cardiac 3D Print Lab, Phoenix Children\u2019s Hospital Heart Center)<\/p><\/div>\n

While survival in pediatric heart transplantation have improved, there are still too few donors to meet the demand, so \u201cit is critical to optimize the range of acceptable donors for each child,\u201d said study author Jonathan Plasencia, B.S., a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University\u2019s Image Processing Applications Lab in Tempe, Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201c3D reconstruction has tremendous potential to improve donor size matching,\u201d he said. \u201cWe feel that we now have evidence that 3D matching can improve selection and hope this will soon help transplant doctors, patients, and their parents make the best decision by taking some of the uncertainty out of this difficult situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

To develop the new 3D system, the researchers created a novel library of healthy children\u2019s 3D reconstructed hearts using MRI and CT images in children weighing up to 99 pounds. They then used the library to predict the best donor body weight to ensure the correct heart size needed for pediatric transplant recipients.<\/p>\n

Then they used before and after images from infants who had already received a heart transplant. When they compared the post-operative data from the real infants with the virtual transplant images, they found that the 3D imaging system accurately identified an appropriate size heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the virtual library grows, the ability to accurately predict donor heart volumes will improve, and analyzing future transplant cases using 3D matching will allow us to predict the true upper and lower limits of acceptable donor size,\u201d he said. \u201cThis may allow more effective organ allocation on a national scale and minimize the number of otherwise acceptable organs that are ultimately discarded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers suggested that one day transplant teams may be able to use the 3D process to perform virtual transplants before an actual procedure to rapidly measure a donated heart to ensure a better fit and to reduce the risk of mismatching in pediatric transplants.<\/p>\n

The 3D process was a collaborative effort developed at the Arizona State University, along with researchers at Phoenix Children\u2019s Hospital and St. Joseph\u2019s Hospital and Medical Center, also in Phoenix. The team was overseen by Steven D. Zangwill, M.D., medical director of Heart Transplant and Heart Failure at Phoenix Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

[320left]Although not yet to the point of replacing size matching for transplants, the investigators are encouraged by what they have found and have already implemented the techniques to supplement standard of care at Phoenix Children\u2019s Hospital, Plasencia said.<\/p>\n

The big question is how long it will take to further test the technique and move it into actual use.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hoping that over the course of the next year, we will have a better sense of its validity in a prospective study,\u201d Plasencia said.<\/p>\n

Co-authors are Justin Ryan, Ph.D..; Jacob Lindquist, B.S.; Susan Sajadi, B.S. Micheal Van Auker, Ph.D.; Randy Richardson, M.D.; Erik Ellsworth, M.D.; Susan Park, C.P.N.P.; Robyn Augustyn, B.S.; Richard Southard, M.D.; John Nigro, M.D.; Stephen Pophal, M.D.; David Frakes, Ph.D. and Steven Zangwill, M.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.<\/p>\n

The study was not funded by any outside sources.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources: <\/strong><\/p>\n