ABSTRACT
Impaired cardiac function in a region of the heart is associated with abnormal local cardiac wall motion and deformation [1]. A quantitative description of regional heart wall motion is required for the assessment of cardiac performance, both in the diagnosis of disease and the evaluation of treatment effect. In addition,
information on myocardial tissue kinematics is required to evaluate mathematical models of cardiac mechanics, which can be used to gain an understanding of how tissue properties such as myocyte contraction, electrical activation, and extracellular coupling combine to effect whole-organ function [2,3].
