CT Preparation

Rinsed hearts are placed in a 12" X 7" x 6" sealable on top of a sponge designed to support the specimen in the correct anatomical position. The coronary sinus of the heart is cannulated with a venogram balloon catheter and connected to a contrast injector. The heart is scanned as the contrast is injected into the cardiac venous system. For specimens that we have received with a short aorta, a similar process is used to visualize the coronary arteries. The left and right coronary ostia are cannulated with two venogram catheters and contrast is injected through these catheters as the specimen is scanned. From these scans we have developed several 3D models of the coronary vasculature.