[A Novel Virtual-reality Imaging System in Cardiovascular Surgery:a Potentially Promising Technology for Surgeons].

Adequate preoperative planning may facilitate successful procedures in cardiovascular surgery. We have developed a system named the Vesalius 3D suite, combining three-dimensional (3D) image-processing software with an optic-tracking spatial navigation, allowing quick, accessible 3D image interpretation for virtual reality (VR) exploration and measurement from one or more of a range of imaging modalities. We present a novel method of virtual imaging analysis for preoperative planning and simulation in cardiovascular surgery using this 3D-VR system.

Ex-vivo aortic root and coronary artery cast measurement to validate the accuracy of virtual imaging.

Background And Aim Of The Study: To investigate the accuracy of two methods of measuring features in cardiac anatomy, using an objective standard cast model.

Methods: We made a silicone cast using a swine heart. Computerized tomography data of the solidified cast were processed through virtual reality (VR) software and through two-dimensional multiplanar-reconstruction (2D-MPR), and all measurements were compared against physical measurements of the cast.

Validation of Virtual Imaging of a Dynamic, Functioning Aortic Valve Using an Ex Vivo Porcine Heart.

Purpose: To investigate a virtual reality imaging system in terms of visualization accuracy and appropriate orientation when displaying cardiac anatomy, we used an ex vivo model enabling direct comparison between reconstructed 3-dimensional visualization of intracardiac structures and real-time visual images.

Description: We established a systole-diastole platform using a swine heart activated by an external mechanical pump and reservoir, allowing simultaneous acquisition of endoscopic visual and computed tomography images of the aortic valve. Virtual images were processed from computed tomography data using 3-dimensional software (the Vesalius 3D suite; PS Medtech, Amsterdam, Netherlands) and compared with visual images seen through a fiberoptic scope.

Mesoscopic Architectures Made of Electrically Charged Binary Colloidal Nanosheets in Aqueous System.

Inorganic layered materials can be converted to colloidal liquid crystals through exfoliation into inorganic nanosheets, and binary nanosheet colloids exhibit rich phase behavior characterized by multiphase coexistence. In particular, niobate-clay binary nanosheet colloids are characterized by phase separation at a mesoscopic (∼several tens of micrometers) scale whereas they are apparently homogeneous at a macroscopic scale. Although the mesoscopic structure of the niobate-clay binary colloid is advantageous to realize unusual photochemical functions, the structure itself has not been clearly demonstrated in real space.

[New Intracoronary Shunt Cannula in Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting].

In off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting(OPCAB), a bloodless operative field has great influence on the quality of anastomosis. In addition, maintenance of distal coronary flow during anastomosis stabilizes hemodynamics. We introduced a new intracoronary shunt cannula, Mini Shunt Pro (MSP).

[Mitral Valve Plasty in a Patient with Situs Inversus Totalis; Usefulness of Retrograde Cardioprotective Beating Test].

We report the usefulness of retrograde cardioprotective(RC)-beating test as a method to evaluate mitral valve plasty (MVP). MVP has been established as an effective procedure for mitral regurgitation, but nevertheless, a problem remains as to how to reduce postoperative residual regurgitation. In order to solve this problem, it is crucial to image the 3 dimensional structures of the mitral valve and its systolic condition.