A made-in-Calgary 4D heart model is transforming treatment for heart failure patients having a specialized pacemaker inserted, called cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). In a national clinical trial, published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, Dr. James White, MD, and his team found a clear benefit to using the model to target treatment.
Developed at the University of Calgary, the heart model uses cardiac MRI images to generate a patient-specific replica, or digital twin, of a patient’s heart.
These personalized “beating heart” models can be used to guide the placement of the specialized pacemaker (CRT), which aims to improve heart function in patients with heart failure by better coordinating how the heart walls squeeze together.
Dr. James White, MD, a professor at the Cumming…