Alison Pouch, Ph.D.*

Research Associate
Department of Radiology
University of Pennsylvania

“Shaping Innovation in Heart Valve Surgery with Image-based Modeling”

Monday, January 14
10:00 - 11:00 am
Georgia Tech, Whitaker 3115

Videoconference:
Emory: HSRB E160
Georgia Tech TEP: stream from your PC 

ABSTRACT
A number of challenging questions routinely arise before heart valve surgery. Should a regurgitant valve be repaired or replaced? If repaired, which techniques and maneuvers should be employed? When is the optimal time to perform surgery? This is just the beginning of a series of questions whose answers rely on an individualized assessment of heart valve morphology and function. With advanced imaging technology like 3D echocardiography already in the operating room, we have a window into patient-specific disease characteristics that cannot otherwise be appreciated immediately before surgery. Unfortunately, imaging resources are often not tapped to their full potential, which contributes to delays in surgical innovation. This presentation introduces an image-based modeling approach to creating enhanced visualizations and quantification of heart valves from real-time 3D echocardiography. The goal of this approach is to fundamentally change the way that surgeons interact with and utilize images in the operating room. Preoperative image-based heart valve models can be used to characterize mechanisms of disease prior to cardiopulmonary bypass and to identify connections between preoperative image features and clinical outcomes. Image-based modeling provides a means for surgeons to innovate and master new surgical techniques like bicuspid aortic valve repair and to devise new standardized approaches for surgical treatment of ischemic mitral regurgitation. Image analysis and surgical innovation are linked within and beyond the cardiovascular domain, and this work aims to optimize the potential of imaging and shape modeling for pre-surgical planning.

Host: John Oshinski