Research Article Development of an Ex Vivo, Beating Heart Model for

Copyright © 2015 Gert Jan Pelgrim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. To test the feasibility of a CT-compatible, ex vivo, perfused porcine heart model for myocardial perfusion CT imaging. Methods. One porcine heart was perfused according to Langendorff. Dynamic perfusion scanning was performed with a second-generation dual source CT scanner. Circulatory parameters like blood flow, aortic pressure, and heart rate were monitored throughout the experiment. Stenosis was induced in the circumflex artery, controlled by a fractional flow reserve (FFR) pressure wire. CT-derived myocardial perfusion parameters were analysed at FFR of 1 to 0.10/0.0. Results. CT images did not show major artefacts due to interference of the model setup. The pacemaker-induced heart rhythm was generally stable at 70 beats per minute. During most of the experiment, blood flow was 0.9–1.0 L/min, and arterial pressure varied between 80 and 95mm/Hg. Blood flow decreased and arterial pressure increased by approximately 10 % after inducing a stenosis with FFR ≤ 0.50. Dynamic perfusio