# US 11,304,682 B2 · Non-invasive estimation of the mechanical properties of the heart

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,304,682 B2
- Document ID: US11304682B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/524,380
- Filed: 2019-07-29
- Published: 2020-04-02
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2018-09-28
- Assignees: University of South Carolina
- Applicants: University of South Carolina; The United States Government as Represented by the Department of Veterans Affairs
- Inventors: William M. Torres; Francis G. Spinale; Tarek M. Shazly
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11304682B2

## CPC

- A61B 8/5223: {for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data (for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012)}
- A61B 8/0883: {for diagnosis of the heart}
- A61B 8/485: {involving measuring strain or elastic properties}
- G06T 17/20: Finite element generation, e.g. wire-frame surface description, {tesselation}
- A61B 8/52: {Devices using data or image processing specially adapted for diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves}
- G06T 2210/41: Medical
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL

## Abstract

Methods and systems for utilizing myocardial strain imaging in an inverse framework to identify mechanical properties of the heart and to determine structural and functional milestones for the development and progression to heart failure.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for analyzing passive left ventricular myocardial stiffness comprising:
measuring regional left ventricular geometry;
measuring myocardial strain;
estimating a ventricular pressure within an inverse finite-element network;
computing regional left ventricular myocardial mechanical properties; and
generating a spatiotemporal map;
wherein an objective function in the form of:
Π
⁢
⁢
⁢
(
A
′
-
A
A
+
∑
i
=
1
6
⁢
(
ɛ
i
′
-
ɛ
i
ɛ
i
)
+
t
′
_
-
t
_
t
_
)
×
100
⁢
%
.
is developed as a function of, at least, actual end-diastolic area (A), regional strain (εi) relative to a reference mesh, and mean wall thickness (t) determined from an end-diastolic mesh.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the spatiotemporal map illustrates passive myocardial stiffness and diastolic stress.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein left ventricular configuration is generated from a position of the mid-myocardial nodes at onset of diastole.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein at least two quasi-static structural mechanics steps are defined as follows:
applying a prescribed translation to basal nodes from a reference configuration to an expected position at end-diastole as determined from speckle-tracking echocardiography; and
fixing basal node positions and applying end-diastolic pressure to an endocardial surface.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, further comprising mimicing tethering effects of a right ventricle and a pericardium by applying an opposing pressure to the basal and mid-ventricular epicardial nodes.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising generating endocardial and epicardial nodes based on the position of the mid-myocardial nodes and estimated wall thicknesses.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, further comprising constructing a finite element mesh from a reference geometry composed of trilinear hexahedral elements spanning a distance between each of the mid-myocardial nodes and spanning a distance between pairs of endocardial and epicardial nodes.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising wherein a trilinear hexahedral finite element mesh is formulated with two elements spanning the distance between each mid-myocardial nodes and a distance between the pairs of endocardial and epicardial nodes.