Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting: Potential Clinical Applications

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Medical Physics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Cardiac magnetic resonance fingerprinting (cMRF) is an emerging technique for rapid, multi-parametric tissue property mapping.
• It holds significant potential to enhance the efficiency and information yield of cardiac MRI examinations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the cMRF technique, detailing its technical developments and in vivo applications.
• To highlight the potential clinical applications supported by these advancements.
• To discuss barriers to clinical implementation and propose solutions for wider adoption.

Main Methods:

• Review of technical developments in cMRF, including motion-compensated reconstruction and advanced quantification.
• Summary of in vivo reports and studies utilizing cMRF.
• Analysis of potential clinical applications and translation pathways.

Main Results:

• Rapid technical progress in cMRF includes motion compensation, enhanced tissue property quantification, and synthetic LGE image generation.
• These developments facilitate simplified CMR protocols, reducing scan times and breath-holds.
• cMRF shows promise across various pathologies, potentially offering more information than conventional methods.

Conclusions:

• Clinical translation of cMRF can shorten cardiac MRI protocols and improve accessibility.
• Addressing current implementation needs is crucial for cMRF to become a standard clinical tool.
• cMRF has the potential to significantly advance cardiac MRI diagnostics and patient management.