Researchers from UCL (University College London) and the ESRF (The European Synchrotron) have produced the first three-dimensional map of the heart’s electrical wiring in Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common congenital heart problems, revealing anatomical features that may explain why many patients develop heart conduction disorders in this condition. The research, part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration, can be used for surgical training and lead to even better outcomes for patients. The research is out in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
Congenital heart disease affects around 1% of the population worldwide. In many cases, babies must undergo life-saving heart surgery shortly after birth. Although survival rates are now high, many patients develop complications later in life, particularly abnormal heart rhythms or contraction patterns. Surgeons have long known that these problems can arise when the heart’s delicate electrical conduction system, which is invisible during surgery, is disturbed.
Andrew Cook, professor of Cardiac anatomy at UCL and senior author of the study, explains: “I often compare it to renovating a house: you wouldn’t want to start drilling into a wall without knowing where the electrical wires are. The same principle applies to the heart”. Instead, surgeons use ‘anatomical landmarks’ and these have now been revised in the study.
This research is part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration. The Atlas is powered by an advanced imaging method called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT), developed at the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, by an international team led by University College London (UCL), UK to visualise anatomy in unprecedented detail.
Read more on the ESRF website
Image: Rendering of a heart with Tetralogy of Fallot showing the septal defect.
Credit: Joseph Brunet, Cinematic Anatomy (Siemens Healthineers)