Microstructural assessment of myocardial non-compaction by cardiac diffusion tensor imaging

Motivation: Left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is characterized by the presence of excessive trabeculation in the left ventricle. Goal(s): To characterize the myocardial microstructure of LVNC patients in comparison to healthy controls using cardiac Diffusion Tensor Imaging (cDTI). Approach: Second order motion compensated spin echo cardiac DTI was acquired in six LVNC patients and six healthy controls. Myocyte aggregate orientation is characterized by helix angle and relative percentage of right handed helical orientated myocytes. Results: In the compacted myocardium, LVNC patients exhibited lower endocardial helix angles and a loss of the endocardial right handed helix when compared to controls. Impact: Our findings indicate that in LVNC patients, a portion of the endocardial helix is dissolved into the non-compacted myocardium, which may impair optimal myocardial contraction in the affected segments as well as apical rotation as observed in LVNC patients.