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3D Whole-heart Myocardial Tissue Analysis
Published on: April 12, 2017
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Three-dimensional whole-heart T2 mapping at 3T.
Haiyan Ding1,2, Laura Fernandez-de-Manuel2,3, Michael Schär4,5
1Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
|September 23, 2014
Summary
A novel free-breathing T2 mapping technique provides accurate 3D myocardial T2 maps, overcoming limitations of conventional methods for better cardiac pathology assessment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular MRI
- Quantitative Imaging
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- T2 mapping in MRI quantifies myocardial water content, crucial for detecting pathologies.
- Conventional T2 mapping techniques suffer from limited spatial/temporal resolution, impacting accuracy.
- Partial-volume averaging and misregistration are key challenges in current T2 mapping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate a novel free-breathing T2 mapping sequence.
- To overcome spatial and temporal resolution limitations of existing T2 mapping methods.
- To improve accuracy in assessing myocardial pathology.
Main Methods:
- A new sequence was developed, insensitive to heart rate variability using a saturation prepulse.
- Respiratory navigator-gating and interleaved acquisitions ensured image registration.
- Free-breathing acquisition allowed for high spatial resolution and short diastolic windows.
- Accuracy was validated using simulations and phantom studies.
Main Results:
- The technique produced homogeneous 3D T2 maps in human subjects and swine.
- Normal human left ventricular T2 values were 42.3 ± 4.0 ms.
- Normal swine left ventricular T2 values were 43.5 ± 4.3 ms.
- Edematous myocardium in a swine infarction model showed a T2 value of 59.1 ± 7.1 ms.
Conclusions:
- Accurate free-breathing 3D T2 mapping is feasible.
- This novel technique may replace current T2-weighted MRI methods for myocardial assessment.
