Background:
Per operative assessment of myocardial protection during heart surgery is of crucial interest. Among different parameters, myocardial temperature remains of paramount importance. The aim of this study is to evaluate myocardial temperature in real time during all surgery time and in numerous points.

Material and Methods:
Sternotomies were performed on Swines and cardiopulmonary bypass instituted. Aorta was then clamped and blood cardioplegia instituted. The myocardium thermal evolution was studied thanks to an infra-red bolometer. A FLIR© SC-645 camera was positioned fifty centimeters away from the heart before the introduction of the hypothermic cardioplegic solutions. Images of the surface of the heart were recorded every second during nearly one hour by a Labview© program. The experimental protocol was an injection of a crystalloid solution and a twenty minute period during which the heart underwent a natural warming. A new cardioplegia was then instituted.

Result:
It was possible to obtain with a 1°C resolution a cartography of the whole anterior part of the heart. A post-treatment allowed the visualization of the diffusion of the hypothermic cardioplegia through the coronary arteries into the myocardium. Local and global thermal analyses were also performed in a way to observe both cooling and warming dynamics of the muscle. Visualization of the temperature was then performed in 10 points to quantify the time evolution.

Conclusion:
Accurate per operative measurements of myocardial temperature in real time and simultaneously on different points are possible with very attractive cartographies. This should be useful to guide new cardioplegia instillation following objectives parameters.