OVERVIEW

SCMR-ISMRM Co-Provided Workshop on Cutting-Edge Imaging of Cardiac Microstructure, Motion & Strain is organized by International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) and will be held from Jan 29 - 30, 2025 at Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, Dist of Col, United States of America.

Goal:
To showcase state-of-the-art techniques for imaging and modeling cardiac microstructure and motion in the heart. To bring together clinical and scientific communities and foster multi-center collaborations for advancing clinical applications and patient outcomes.

Overview:
The healthy function of the heart is underpinned by the complex interactions of the microstructure and motion of the myocardium. The microstructure provides the scaffolding and connections that support the electrical conduction pathways and govern how the myocardium can deform, whilst the motion and deformation of the heart drive the cardiac output. The microstructure and motion properties of the heart are inextricably linked and can be influenced by disease processes, therapy, and remodeling.

There is considerable interest in evaluating the motion and strain properties in the heart. This includes areas such as feature tracking, tagging, strain-encoded (SENC) MRI, and phase contrast techniques e.g. tissue phase mapping and displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE). Mapping tissue microstructure is also an active field of research. We have seen the emergence of cardiac diffusion MRI as a promising tool for assessing the tissue microstructure, where the diffusion of water molecules is used as a surrogate marker for tissue microstructure. This enables quantification of tissue diffusion properties which are sensitive to cell size, integrity, and orientation, as well as microvascular perfusion. Sophisticated modeling techniques, including the use of AI, are improving image quality, facilitating the integration of electro-anatomical and hemodynamic information, and have the potential to provide patient-specific modeling of cardiac structure-function relationships.

The purpose of this workshop is to bring together clinicians and scientists to discuss the latest technological advances in the field of cardiac microstructure and motion mapping, and to identify clinical pathways for their application for the benefit of patients.

The workshop will offer cutting-edge scientific presentations, complemented by hands-on demonstrations of software packages, and a panel discussion focusing on future directions of the field. The workshop will be held in a hybrid manner to facilitate in-person and online access.