Registration, modal decomposition and analysis of human left ventricles

Cardiovascular diseases, especially myocardial infarction and heart failure, are among the most common causes of death. Proper, timely diagnosis can be a key factor in reducing the mortality of these diseases. In the present paper, statistical data analysis of left ventricle of human heart is presented. Raster DICOM images are processed, segmented and registered, in order to mark the left ventricle on medical images, and then to obtain its geometrical 3D models of constant topology. Registered, geometrical data, obtained for whole cardiac cycle of patients with healthy hearts, hypertrophy and heart failure, is then decomposed using Principal Component Analysis. The obtained modes represent the movement of the ventricle during one heart cycle. The proposed approach allows neglecting unimportant, noisy signal and enables the interpretation of the heart cycle. It is shown that modal decomposition might be used to distinguish the hearts with heart failure and the group containing healthy hearts and the ones with hypertrophy. Being a non-invasive method, this approach enables the diagnosis of various hearts, including prenatal ones.