Defining the optimal temporal and spatial resolution for cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging feature tracking

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT) enhances cardiac function assessment beyond volumetric analysis.
• Current guidelines lack specific imaging parameter recommendations for CMR-FT.
• Defining optimal spatial and temporal resolutions is crucial for reliable CMR-FT post-processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine optimal spatial and temporal resolutions for CMR cine imaging in CMR-FT.
• To evaluate the impact of different imaging parameters on myocardial deformation analyses.
• To establish reliable post-processing standards for CMR-FT.

Main Methods:

• Assessed intra- and inter-observer reproducibility in 12 healthy subjects and 9 heart failure patients.
• Acquired cine images with varying temporal (20-50 frames/cycle) and spatial resolutions.
• Analyzed left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) global and segmental strain (GLS/GCS) and strain rates (SR) using CMR-FT.

Main Results:

• Temporal resolution, not spatial resolution, significantly impacted absolute strain and SR values.
• LV and RV strain values changed significantly between 20 and 30 frames/cycle.
• SR values showed significant changes across all tested temporal resolutions.
• Reproducibility of LV strain and SR was unaffected by resolution, while RV strain variability decreased with higher temporal resolution.

Conclusions:

• Temporal resolution is a critical factor influencing CMR-FT deformation analyses.
• A temporal resolution of 30 frames/cardiac cycle provides consistent strain assessments.
• Higher temporal resolutions benefit strain rate measurements in CMR-FT.