Use of the intrusion angle to describe the radial orientation of local cardiomyocytes in the left ventricle

The projected transverse angle and the nonprojected intrusion angle can be used to describe the radial orientation of local cardiomyocytes in the left ventricle wall, although to date their descriptive relevance has not been demonstrated. This paper compares the evolution of the transverse angle and the intrusion angle in five left ventricle wall samples, and investigates in more detail their respective behaviors when the nonprojected helical angle varies. We show that the intrusion angle avoids the “projection” effect, and contrary to the transverse angle, it remains stable whatever the values taken by the nonprojected helical angle, even when this approaches 90°. The intrusion angle is the better choice, rather than the transverse angle, in describing the radial orientation of local cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, the oscillation of the intrusion angle in the samples is assessed, whose results indicate that the intrusion angle's oscillation amplitude and period are regional and related to the local tissue architecture.