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Updated: Jan 24, 2026
Assessment of Cardiac Function and Myocardial Morphology Using Small Animal Look-locker Inversion Recovery SALLI MRI in Rats
Published on: July 19, 2013
Feasibility study of highly accelerated phase-sensitive inversion recovery myocardial viability imaging using
Zhehao Zhang1,2, Wenbo Sun3, Lan Lan3
1Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) is a powerful cardiac MRI method to assess myocardial viability, which can eliminate the background phase and preserve the sign of the desired magnetization during inversion recovery.
Purpose/Hypothesis:
To shorten the acquisition time of myocardial viability imaging by introducing both simultaneous multislice (SMS) and parallel imaging (PI) into PSIR without additional acquisitions for calibration data.
Study Type:
Prospective study.
Subjects:
A high-resolution phantom and three vials with doped solutions matching typical postcontrast T1 and T2 values of scar, healthy myocardium, and blood; 18 patients (six with known myocardial infarction) were included in this study.
Field Strength/Sequence:
3T/segmented fast spoiled gradient echo pulse sequence.
Assessment:
Phantom and in vivo experiments were performed to compare the performance of conventional PSIR, SMS accelerated PSIR (SMS-PSIR, 2× acceleration), and SMS as well as PI accelerated PSIR (SMS + PI-PSIR, 4× acceleration). In phantom experiments, the error maps, local signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated. In in vivo experiments, the image quality and artifact level of each study were qualitatively graded (by three radiologists). G-factor maps were calculated. The infarct size presented as a percentage of the left ventricle was measured (full-width half-maximum). Acquisition time of each study was recorded.
Statistical Test:
One-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results:
In phantom experiments, SNR and CNR were well preserved for SMS-PSIR, while they dropped for SMS + PI-PSIR, as expected. In 15 subjects, the overall image quality scores were not significantly different among conventional PSIR (3.70 ± 1.06), SMS-PSIR (3.78 ± 0.99), and SMS + PI-PSIR (3.47 ± 0.94; P = 0.20). The artifact level scores were also comparable among conventional PSIR (3.67 ± 1.04), SMS-PSIR (3.77 ± 1.03), and SMS + PI-PSIR (3.45 ± 1.00; P = 0.22). SMS-PSIR achieved negligible g-factor noise amplification (1.04 ± 0.03) and SMS + PI-PSIR showed higher g-factors (2.83 ± 0.48). The infarct size was consistent among conventional PSIR (22.51 ± 25.05%) and SMS-PSIR (22.98 ± 26.19%), as well as SMS + PI-PSIR (22.93 ± 25.68%; P = 0.98). The acquisition time of two short-axis slices for SMS-PSIR (17.6 ± 1.7 sec, 16 heartbeats) and SMS + PI-PSIR (9.8 ± 1.9 sec, 8 heartbeats) was 30% and 17% of that for conventional PSIR (56.2 ± 8.5 sec, 32 heartbeats), respectively.
Data Conclusion:
SMS can be implemented in PSIR without additional reference scan. The image quality is comparable with conventional PSIR, while the acquisition time is much shorter. The proposed method is also compatible with PI to further reduce the scan time.
Level Of Evidence:
2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:1964-1972.
Insights
Simultaneous multislice (SMS) and parallel imaging (PI) accelerate cardiac MRI for myocardial viability assessment. This technique significantly reduces scan times while maintaining comparable image quality to conventional methods.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Myocardial Viability Assessment
- Advanced Imaging Techniques
Background:
- Phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) is crucial for cardiac MRI, enabling accurate myocardial viability assessment.
- PSIR effectively eliminates background phase and preserves magnetization signals during inversion recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To significantly shorten acquisition times for myocardial viability imaging.
- To integrate simultaneous multislice (SMS) and parallel imaging (PI) into PSIR without requiring additional calibration scans.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study involving a high-resolution phantom and 18 patients.
- Comparison of conventional PSIR, SMS-PSIR (2x acceleration), and SMS+PI-PSIR (4x acceleration) using a 3T segmented fast spoiled gradient echo sequence.
- Evaluation of image quality, artifact levels, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and infarct size.
Main Results:
- SMS-PSIR preserved SNR and CNR in phantom studies; SMS+PI-PSIR showed reduced SNR/CNR.
- In vivo image quality and artifact scores were comparable across all methods (P=0.20 and P=0.22, respectively).
- SMS-PSIR and SMS+PI-PSIR reduced acquisition time by 70% and 83%, respectively, compared to conventional PSIR, with comparable infarct size measurements.
Conclusions:
- SMS can be implemented in PSIR without extra calibration, maintaining image quality while drastically reducing scan time.
- The integration of PI with SMS further accelerates the imaging process.
- This accelerated PSIR technique offers a promising solution for efficient myocardial viability assessment.
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