Developing a new imaging method to detect heart damage after a heart attack

Myocardial strain measurements in survivors of acute ST elevation myocardial infarction: implementation and prognostic significance of novel magnetic resonance imaging methods

Supervised by Professor Colin Berry, this Clinical Research Training Fellow is developing a new scanning technique that measures the heart’s pumping ability. This is important after a heart attack as heart pump function can help predict prognosis. Doctors often use echocardiography to assess heart pump function after a heart attack. However, although echocardiography can help to predict a patient’s prognosis, it has limitations and may not always detect underlying heart damage. In this project the researchers will develop new imaging techniques with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners that assess the strength of the heartbeat. The team has developed a new method called ‘cine-strain’ which measures heart deformation (or strain) by processing scans taken during MRI. The team will collaborate with experts at the University of Virginia in the USA to assess and validate this method, and to find out if it can better detect underlying damage to the heart. They aim to make this new method fast and operator friendly, so doctors can use it easily in the clinic. This new heart imaging method could improve heart function assessment in heart attack survivors and help doctors better diagnose and manage their patients in the future.