Estimation of right ventricular volume, quantitative assessment of wall motion and trabeculae mass in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia

The aim of this study was to gain a wide perspective of the arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) by developing algorithms for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging. We developed a semi-automatic procedure to assess the Right Ventricle (RV) volumes and to quantify RV wall motion; moreover, with the increased visible details in a single MR image, a manual method to evaluate the trabeculae mass was performed. All the algorithms used were based on the level set theory which allows detecting both endocardial and wall surfaces, as well as the black parts characterizing the trabeculae. 6 normal subjects and 6 subjects with ARVD have been investigated. Our method and the standard manual method for volume estimation were significantly correlated (y=0.92×+6.56), (r=0.92 p<;0.001). Wall Motion results showed a significant reduction of RV segmental function in patients with ARVD, Inferior Wall was the most involved with more than 80% reduction (p<;0.001) compared with normal subjects, while RV outflow tract (RVOT) was the least involved with less than 50% reduction (p<;0.001) compared to normal subjects. A repeatability test was executed on trabeculae mass assessment, which showed a high intra observer correlation, in fact the results were significant at 95% of the cases.