Mapping myocardial viability using interleaved T1-T2* weighted imaging

The present study was to evaluate the efficacy of our interleaved T1-T2* weighted imaging for assessing myocardial viability. The left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) of pig hearts (n = 7) were occluded for 2 h, followed by 1 h reperfusion. After removed from animals, the hearts were perfused in a Langendorff apparatus with a mixture of pig blood and crystalloid solution in 1:1 ratio. T1 relaxation times of the myocardium were measured with a TurboFLASH inversion-recovery sequence. Gadolinium diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) (0.05 mmol/kg body wt) was then injected as a bolus into the aortic perfusion line. The first pass of the contrast agent through the heart was followed using the interleaved T1-T2* imaging sequence. Once the concentration of the contrast agent was in an equilibrium state, T1 relaxation times were measured again. It was found that the percentage recovery of T2* intensity (PRT2*) at the maximum T1 intensity measured during the first pass of the contrast agent with the interleaved T1-T2* imaging was significantly higher in infarcted myocardium than in normal myocardium. Moreover, the regions showing a high T2* percentage recovery on PRT2* maps matched well with the infarcted myocardium demarcated with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. We therefore conclude that infarcted myocardium can be delineated using the interleaved T1-T2* imaging method.