Cardiovascular MR imaging: current level of clinical activity

Relative to other clinical magnetic resonance (MR) imaging activities, cardiovascular (CV) MR imaging has been slow to demonstrate a clinical presence. To better understand the present situation in clinical CV MR imaging, a survey of Society for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (SMRI) members was conducted. A large majority (78%) of the 90 sites responding to the survey reported clinical activity in CV MR imaging. Of these 70 sites, 46% restricted such activity to routine clinical work, while 3% restricted it to clinical research. The remaining 51% conducted both. At all clinical sites, the overall frequency of performance of clinical CV MR imaging was variable (mean, 4.2 and 13.8 cases per month at routine-only and combined routine-research sites, respectively). In clinical CV studies, gated static, multi-level spin-echo and dynamic gradient-echo (cine) techniques were most common. At the 68 sites involved in routine clinical CV MR imaging, primarily anatomic studies composed a much higher proportion of the total (mean, 86%) than primarily functional studies. The evaluation of acquired thoracic aortic disease, congenital cardiac malformation, and para- or intracardiac mass were the most prevalent anatomic indications overall. Approximately half of the same sites assessed functional aspects of CV disease. The assessment of ventricular dysfunction and valvular dysfunction were the most common functional objectives. The survey indicated that the level of clinical activities in CV MR imaging was low and that most responding sites were involved in clinical CV MR imaging primarily for detection and delineation of anatomic abnormalities.