[Determining global heart function with real time TrueFISP in one respiratory cycle]

Real-time multislice cine techniques lead to inaccurate results in ventricular volumes based on limited temporal resolution. The purpose of the study is to evaluate a real-time cine technique with parallel imaging algorithms in comparison to standard segmented techniques. Twelve patients underwent cardiac cine MRI using real-time multislice cine trueFISP. Temporal resolution was improved using parallel acquisition techniques (iPAT) and data acquisition was performed in a single breath-hold along the patients' short axis. Evaluation of EDV, ESV, EF and myocardial mass was performed and results compared to a standard segmented single-slice cine trueFISP. Combination of real-time cine trueFISP and iPAT provided a temporal resolution of 48 ms. Results of the multislice approach showed an excellent correlation to standard single-slice trueFISP for EDV (0.94, p <0.001), ESV (0.97, p <0.001) EF (0.99, p <0.001) and myocardial mass (0.93, p <0.001). No significant differences could be found. The use of parallel acquisition techniques (PAT) allow for a substantial improvement of temporal resolution in real-time cine MRI (<50 ms). Therefore these techniques enable an accurate and exact quantification of global ventricular function.