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Quantitative assessment of left ventricular function: steady-state free precession MR imaging with or without
Richard D Kacere1, Mercedes Pereyra, Margit A Nemeth
1Department of Cardiology, St Luke's Episcopal Hospital/Texas Heart Institute, Cardiovascular MRI, MC 2-270, 6720 Bertner Ave, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Radiology
|April 23, 2005
Summary
Sensitivity Encoding (SENSE) with cine SSFP imaging reduces cardiac MRI scan times by 50%. This method accurately assesses quantitative left ventricular (LV) function, including ejection fraction and LV mass, without compromising image quality.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Medical Physics
- Radiology
Background:
- Quantitative left ventricular (LV) function assessment is crucial for diagnosing and managing cardiac diseases.
- Standard cine steady-state free precession (SSFP) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides detailed LV functional data but can be time-consuming.
- Accelerated imaging techniques are needed to improve patient comfort and throughput.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of Sensitivity Encoding (SENSE)-accelerated cine SSFP imaging for quantitative LV function assessment.
- To compare SENSE-accelerated cine SSFP with standard cine SSFP in terms of image quality and diagnostic performance.
- To determine if SENSE acceleration can reduce acquisition time without compromising diagnostic accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Twenty patients underwent cardiac MRI using both standard multisection multiphase SSFP and SENSE-accelerated cine SSFP sequences.
- Identical spatial, contrast, and temporal resolutions were maintained for both techniques.
- Bland-Altman analysis was used to compare quantitative measurements derived from both methods.
Main Results:
- Both standard and SENSE-accelerated SSFP imaging yielded similar estimates for LV ejection fraction and LV mass.
- Blood-to-muscle contrast and interobserver variability were comparable between the two techniques.
- SENSE acceleration reduced acquisition time by 50% without negatively impacting spatial resolution, temporal resolution, or contrast-to-noise ratio.
Conclusions:
- Combining SENSE with cine SSFP imaging is a viable method for rapid, quantitative assessment of LV function.
- SENSE-accelerated cine SSFP offers a significant reduction in scan time, enhancing efficiency in cardiac MRI.
- This accelerated technique maintains diagnostic accuracy, making it suitable for routine clinical use in evaluating LV function.