2-D CVIB imaging in animal experiments

To demonstrate the feasibility and validity of 2-D CVIB (Cyclic variation of Integrated Backscatter) imaging method, animal experiments were conducted. Among 10 anesthetized open-chest dogs, acute myocardial ischemia was induced by occluding left anterior descending coronary artery. While scanning normal hearts and ischemic hearts with the ultrasonic B scanner, digital radiofrequency data were acquired by a real-time acquisition system in synchronism. The offline analysis to the radio-frequency signal with the 2-D CVIB imaging method was performed to verify the consistency between the imaging results and the design of the experiments. The experimental results showed that the 2-D CVIB imaging method was successful in detecting the ischemic myocardium and might provide a new noninvasive way for the cardiologists to both quantitatively and visually evaluate the contractile performance of the myocardium.