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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
In Vivo Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Structure, Function, Perfusion and Viability Using Cardiac Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: February 16, 2016
Accurate assessment of the arterial input function during high-dose myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic
Peter D Gatehouse1, Andrew G Elkington, Nicholas A Ablitt
1Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK.
Insights
A new cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) method accurately measures the arterial input function (AIF) for myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) using a single high-dose injection, simplifying the dual-bolus approach.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR)
- Medical Imaging
- Physiology
Background:
- Quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging is crucial for diagnosing cardiac conditions.
- Accurate measurement of the arterial input function (AIF) is essential for quantitative perfusion modeling.
- Traditional methods like the dual-bolus technique present practical challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an accurate method for measuring the AIF in high-dose, single-injection, quantitative T1-weighted myocardial perfusion CMR.
- To simplify the process of quantitative myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) assessment.
Main Methods:
- A novel method utilizing cardiac-gated, low-resolution and high-resolution imaging sequences was developed.
- The technique employs a short saturation-recovery time for blood pool signal and a long one for myocardial signal.
- Myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) was compared between the new method and the dual-bolus technique in 15 subjects.
Main Results:
- The new single-bolus method demonstrated a small, statistically significant difference in MPR compared to the dual-bolus method.
- This indicates the feasibility of accurate MPR quantification with the novel approach.
Conclusions:
- The developed method for AIF measurement introduces no significant error and overcomes the complexities of the dual-bolus technique.
- Quantitative MPR assessment is achievable with a simpler, high-dose single-bolus CMR approach.
- This technique allows for potential imaging of multiple myocardial slices simultaneously.
Purpose:
To develop a method for accurate measurement of the arterial input function (AIF) during high-dose, single-injection, quantitative T1-weighted myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).
Materials And Methods:
Fast injection of high-dose gadolinium with highly T1 sensitive myocardial perfusion imaging is normally incompatible with quantitative perfusion modeling because of distortion of the peak of the AIF caused by full recovery of the blood magnetization. We describe a new method that for each cardiac cycle uses a low-resolution short-axis (SA) image with a short saturation-recovery time immediately after the R-wave in order to measure the left ventricular (LV) blood pool signal, which is followed by a single SA high-resolution image with a long saturation-recovery time in order to measure the myocardial signal with high sensitivity. Fifteen subjects were studied. Using the new method, we compared the myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) with that obtained from the dual-bolus technique (a low-dose bolus to measure the blood pool signal and a high-dose bolus to measure the myocardial signal).
Results:
A small significant difference was found between MPRs calculated using the new method and the MPRs calculated using the dual-bolus method.
Conclusion:
This new method for measuring the AIF introduced no major error, while removing the practical difficulties of the dual-bolus approach. This suggests that quantification of the MPR can be achieved using the simple high-dose single-bolus technique, which could also image multiple myocardial slices.
