University College London

By Lynn C. Allison  From Newsmax

Scientists have created a unique atlas of the human heart that can take you into its internal workings just like Google Earth. The video offers “unprecedented 3D detail” of the organ to help doctors better understand the mechanism of cardiovascular disease and develop new therapies.

Peter Lee, senior author of the study professor of materials science in the department of mechanical engineering at University College London (UCL), said that the new technology allows scientists to view the heart from a global scale and then also zoom in to “street level” to look at cardiovascular features in incredible detail, according to The US Sun.

The study, published in the journal Radiology, explains that the imaging can be done as small as 20 micrometers, which is half the width of a human hair. The technique can help experts study both healthy and diseased hearts from a 3D view of the organ that is 25 times better than a clinical CT scanner, said Lee. One potential application would be to better understand the workings of heart arrythmias and improve treatment options.

Scientists from UCL and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) used an X-ray technique called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT) to capture images of two adult human hearts, one that was healthy, and the other that was diseased. They were able to see details of the cardiac conduction system that generates and transmits electrical messages that help the heart muscle pump blood throughout the body. The HiP-CT image provided a look at soft tissue of the heart that is typically not visible with conventional X-ray screening.

According to Medical Xpress, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally. Clinicians typically use imaging techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to diagnose cardiovascular disease, but these techniques don’t provide sufficient structural details about what is actually happening in the heart. In recent years, a device called a synchrotron has been used to improve imaging without having to slice open an organ into thin sections that can be more easily scanned by conventional techniques.

Paul Tafforeau, one of the study authors who invented the HiP-CT technique, said: “The ESRF’s beamline facility is currently the only place in the world where complete adult human organs can be imaged with such a high level of contrast, and we are still quite far from the limits of the technology.”

The human heart atlas will be on display at The Wonders, part of the UCL Festival of Engineering in London. You can also view the human heart atlas online here. The research team noted that more hearts still need to be imaged using this advanced technology, and these initial images are just the beginning.

Lynn C. Allison ✉

Lynn C. Allison, a Newsmax health reporter, is an award-winning medical journalist and author of more than 30 self-help books.

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