Computed Tomography-based evaluation of porcine cardiac dimensions to assist in pre-study planning and optimized model selection for pre-clinical research

Miriam Lipiski,Hatem Alkadhi,Volkmar Falk,Francesco Maisano,Mareike Sauer,Thea Fleischmann,Matthias Eberhard,Beate Kolb,Sascha Halvachizadeh,Maximilian Y Emmert,Nikola Cesarovic

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-63044-1

Abstract

The pig (Sus Scrofa Domestica) is an accepted model for preclinical evaluation of prosthetic heart valves and trans-catheter implantation techniques. Understanding porcine cardiac dimensions through three-dimensional computed tomography (CT), increases preclinical study success, leading to higher cost efficiency and to the observance of the obligation to the 3 R principles. Cardiac CT images of twenty-four Swiss large white pigs were segmented; aortic root, mitral valve, pulmonary trunk, tricuspid valve, as well as the aorto-mitral angle and left atrial height were analyzed. Correlation coefficient (r) was calculated in relation to body weight. In Swiss large white pigs, valvular dimensions, length of the pulmonary artery and ascending aorta as well as left atrial height correlate with body weight. Coronary ostia heights and aorto-mitral angle size can be neglected in animal size selection; no changes were found for either of the two parameters with increasing body weight.

Highlights

The pig (Sus Scrofa Domestica) is an accepted model for preclinical evaluation of prosthetic heart valves and trans-catheter implantation techniques
A strong correlation was found between body weight and aortic valve diameter (r = 0.83, p < 0.0001) and aortic valve area, respectively (r = 0.84, p < 0.0001), as well as between body weight and length of the ascending aorta (r = 0.72, p < 0.0001) (Fig. 3)
A moderate correlation was found between the body weight and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) diameter (r = 0.64, p = 0.0007)

Summary

Introduction

The pig (Sus Scrofa Domestica) is an accepted model for preclinical evaluation of prosthetic heart valves and trans-catheter implantation techniques. Cardiac CT images of twentyfour Swiss large white pigs were segmented; aortic root, mitral valve, pulmonary trunk, tricuspid valve, as well as the aorto-mitral angle and left atrial height were analyzed. In Swiss large white pigs, valvular dimensions, length of the pulmonary artery and ascending aorta as well as left atrial height correlate with body weight. The domestic pig (Sus Scrofa Domestica) is a widely accepted animal model of cardiovascular research and in particular for the preclinical evaluation of prosthetic heart valves and trans-catheter implantation techniques[9]. Unlike in the human patient, where the valve is chosen based on the patient’s annular size and geometry, in preclinical research a suitable animal is generally selected based on body weight for one particular valve size available for testing. Most of miniature swine breeds will not reach the heart and blood vessel size which most closely approximates that of humans, precluding them from testing human-size implants[21]

Methods

Results

Conclusion