Creative Hearts

A breathtaking array of colours, high-tech scanning techniques and the human heart have inspired this Klimt-esque collage. The artwork comprises hundreds of technicolour images of sections through the heart, produced using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI uses radio waves, magnets and a computer to create pictures of organs and tissues (scans). It helps doctors assess damage to heart tissue following a heart attack. To pinpoint the damage more accurately, a technique called T1 mapping assigns a value and corresponding colour to every part of the tissue according to its state of health. Until now, compiling a T1 map meant patients holding their breath for long periods during the scan (keeping organs as still as possible for a clearer picture). But, thinking creatively, the scientists behind this artwork devised a way to minimise the time required to capture the T1 map data, removing the need to take the patient’s breath away.

Written by Caroline Cross

Caroline Cross

Writer

Fascinated by the complexities of the human body, Caroline enjoys writing about biomedical research. She spent much of her research career peering down a microscope at cells and parasites, and is constantly amazed at their beauty.

Website

• Stefan Piechnik
• University of Oxford
• Image courtesy of Dr Stefan Piechnik
• British Heart Foundation Annual Science Image Competition