Assessing the impact of fiber orientation in myocardial passive stiffness estimation

Assessing the impact of fiber orientation in myocardial passive stiffness estimation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Assessing the impact of fiber orientation in myocardial passive stiffness estimation Sarah Leclerc, Delphine Perie This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7420867/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Left ventricular passive myocardial stiffness is a valuable biomarker for early dectection of heart failure. Patient-specific finite element models are promising non-invasive tools for estimating this stiffness, using an inverse optimization approach. Implementation of the model requires the definition of cardiac fiber orientation. Traditionally, a linear helix angle distribution from 60◦ at endocardium to−60◦ at epicardium, with zero transverse angle, is assumed. However, in-vivo Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) offers more accurate, patient-specific fiber data, though full integration of personalized fiber architecture remains challenging. This study investigates how fiber orientation affects myocardial stiffness estimation. Three patient-specific models were developed to assess mechanical behavior during passive inflation and to estimate stiffness through inverse optimization. Variations in helix angle range, both globally and by cardiac sector, were tested, as well as changes in transmural distribution and non-zero transverse angles. Additionally, in-vivo DTI data from single slices were wrapped onto the models to compare mechanical responses. This study revealed an increase in stress and strain values caused by more circularly-aligned fibers, and change in the ventricular motion during inflation. No cardiac sector stood out for greater or lesser impact. Transverse angle showed minimal impact. Stiffness estimates showed clear variations between DTI-slice-based reconstructions, but no significant difference with the reference orientation. Deviations observed with estimates during exercise are comparable to those at rest. These findings are intended to guide the selection of an appropriate fiber modeling strategy, balancing ease of implementation with accuracy of stiffness estimate, and improve the biomarker’s clinical utility. Fiber orientation Finite element model Left ventricle mechanics Passive stiffness estimation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7420867","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":517760523,"identity":"31fe9202-81d6-4171-a2d3-c587ecd3443b","order_by":0,"name":"Sarah Leclerc","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Polytechnique Montréal","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sarah","middleName":"","lastName":"Leclerc","suffix":""},{"id":517760524,"identity":"5d2eb755-e5ea-46fa-9301-fbfeb04c855f","order_by":1,"name":"Delphine Perie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Polytechnique Montréal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Delphine","middleName":"","lastName":"Perie","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-20 22:53:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7420867/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7420867/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91895408,"identity":"1b17d95d-9454-474f-8240-58129c4b7bbc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-22 17:45:35","extension":"json","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4833,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2fd5f48053474637aadac641e661ad90.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7420867/v1/4a4cb9713a2b68c2e13d9c6d.json"},{"id":94989230,"identity":"60d800c4-e705-4550-ac89-2f3cc0366965","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-03 07:12:27","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2651131,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscriptfiles.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7420867/v1_covered_07a9ff77-ebf6-425e-bbe7-7c01c481dabd.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eAssessing the impact of fiber orientation in myocardial passive stiffness estimation\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Fiber orientation, Finite element model, Left ventricle mechanics, Passive stiffness estimation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7420867/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7420867/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Left ventricular passive myocardial stiffness is a valuable biomarker for early dectection of heart failure. Patient-specific finite element models are promising non-invasive tools for estimating this stiffness, using an inverse optimization approach. Implementation of the model requires the definition of cardiac fiber orientation. Traditionally, a linear helix angle distribution from 60◦ at endocardium to−60◦ at epicardium, with zero transverse angle, is assumed. However, in-vivo Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) offers more accurate, patient-specific fiber data, though full integration of personalized fiber architecture remains challenging. This study investigates how fiber orientation affects myocardial stiffness estimation. Three patient-specific models were developed to assess mechanical behavior during passive inflation and to estimate stiffness through inverse optimization. Variations in helix angle range, both globally and by cardiac sector, were tested, as well as changes in transmural distribution and non-zero transverse angles. Additionally, in-vivo DTI data from single slices were wrapped onto the models to compare mechanical responses. This study revealed an increase in stress and strain values caused by more circularly-aligned fibers, and change in the ventricular motion during inflation. No cardiac sector stood out for greater or lesser impact. Transverse angle showed minimal impact. Stiffness estimates showed clear variations between DTI-slice-based reconstructions, but no significant difference with the reference orientation. Deviations observed with estimates during exercise are comparable to those at rest. 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