The heart is a vital organ that we know like the back of our hand. Indeed, medicine is filled with various depictions of our “blood pump”. MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, and electrocardiogram, all of these provide 2D images that allow us to explore the complexity of this organ, to diagnose, and to treat its potential failures. But what if, in addition to 2D medical imaging, we could visualize the heart in its third dimension?
That is exactly the question that the MUSIC software addresses. This software, developed by the University of Bordeaux and teams from INRIA and IHU LIRYC of CHU, is a first in France and the world. The principle is to reconstruct a patient’s heart in 3D, based on the 2D medical imaging of the organ. But what is the benefit? The aim of this technology is to be able to operate on a heart affected by cardiac arrhythmia by visualizing the manipulation in real time and very precisely, via 3D. Heart rhythm disorders, or arrhythmias, are common diseases. Their number is constantly increasing due in particular to an aging population and an improvement in screening methods. Several types of arrhythmias exist. Atrial and ventricular fibrillations are heart rhythm disorders that accelerate the heart and make it beat irregularly, which can lead to a stroke.
Until now, to operate on a heart suffering from fibrillations, the surgeon had to first map the patient’s organ. This mapping was done by inserting, via the femoral route, a hand-shaped catheter, scanning the electrical activity of the internal walls of the heart. This was a long surgical step, which could last more than 5 hours and was added to the preliminary heart surgery itself.Now, the Bordeaux technology replaces this step with a personalized 3D reconstruction of the heart, making the cardiac operation in question easier. The MUSIC network already includes about fifty hospitals across all continents. Thus, data collected worldwide feeds the increasingly efficient software’s artificial intelligence. Diagnosis and patient care are then faster and more effective.
A FEAT THAT WE HOLD DEAR
In collaboration with the Bordeaux team, IMASCIENCE has tried to best convey this technology and its stakes through an explanatory animation video. To better understand the MUSIC technology, follow Cyril, the mascot of Lyric, on a journey inside the heart… In 3D!