In this plenary session, Douglas Packer of the Mayo Clinic presents his translational work on the use of multiple imaging modalities for guiding intracardiac and extracorporeal ablation for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

Packer notes that imaging extends beyond three dimensions in a sense, given both the time component and the use of strain and voltage measurements to locate irregularities.

The presentation features a number of examples of image fusion in the cases of human and animal models. The complexities of real-time accurate imaging and fusion of modalities provide deeper insight into the use of the technology being developed and should serve to inspire the medical-imaging community with new challenges and opportunities.

Douglas L. Packer is a consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, at Mayo Clinic Rochester. He is director of the Heart Rhythm Services and director of the Translational Electrophysiology Research Laboratory.

He attended medical school at the University of Utah School of Medicine and did his internship, residency, and fellowship in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. He holds certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology and Cardiology.

(Available through 20 April only)