Universal atrial coordinates applied to visualisation, registration and construction of patient specific meshes

• Published in: Medical image analysis 2019-07, Vol.55, p.65-75
• Main Authors: Roney, Caroline H., Pashaei, Ali, Meo, Marianna, Dubois, Rémi, Boyle, Patrick M., Trayanova, Natalia A., Cochet, Hubert, Niederer, Steven A., Vigmond, Edward J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anatomic Landmarks; Anatomy; Arrhythmia; Atria; Atrium; Bioengineering; Boundary conditions; Computer simulation; Construction; Contrast Media; Coordinates; Epicardial Mapping; Finite element method; Heart Atria - anatomy & histology; Heart Atria - diagnostic imaging; Humans; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Life Sciences; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mapping; Personalized computational modeling; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spatial data; Two dimensional models; Visualization
• ISSN: 1361-8415; 1361-8423
• DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2019.04.004

•We introduce a coordinate system for the atria based on anatomical landmarks.•We construct the coordinates from solutions to Laplace’s equation.•We demonstrate the mapping of both scalar and vector data between different atria.•The coordinate system was used for registration and 2D visualisation of multimodal data.•Patient specific meshes with atrial structures and fibre direction were constructed using just five landmark points. [Display omitted] Integrating spatial information about atrial physiology and anatomy in a single patient from multimodal datasets, as well as generalizing these data across patients, requires a common coordinate system. In the atria, this is challenging due to the complexity and variability of the anatomy. We aimed to develop and validate a Universal Atrial Coordinate (UAC) system for the following applications: combination and assessment of multimodal data; comparison of spatial data across patients; 2D visualization; and construction of patient specific geometries to test mechanistic hypotheses. Left and right atrial LGE-MRI data were segmented and meshed. Two coordinates were calculated for each atrium by solving Laplace’s equation, with boundary conditions assigned using five landmark points. The coordinate system was used to map spatial information between atrial meshes, including scalar fields measured using different mapping modalities, and atrial anatomic structures and fibre directions from a reference geometry. Average error in point transfer from a source mesh to a destination mesh and back again was less than 0.1 mm for the left atrium and 0.02 mm for the right atrium. Patient specific meshes were constructed using the coordinate system and phase singularity density maps from arrhythmia simulations were visualised in 2D. In conclusion, we have developed a universal atrial coordinate system allowing automatic registration of imaging and electroanatomic mapping data, 2D visualisation, and patient specific model creation.