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Updated: Sep 10, 2025
Registered Bioimaging of Nanomaterials for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Monitoring
Published on: December 9, 2010
Multi-center investigation of cardiac diffusion tensor imaging in healthy volunteers by the Society of Cardiovascular
Irvin Teh1, Kévin Moulin2, Pedro F Ferreira3
1Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM), University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Insights
Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) shows promise for heart microstructural analysis but faces variability. The SIGNET study aims to identify sources of this variation to improve clinical translation.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Imaging
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging
- Cardiac MRI
Background:
- Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) is an emerging technique for heart microstructural characterization with clinical potential in cardiomyopathies.
- Significant variation exists in reported in vivo cDTI results across studies.
- The sensitivity of cDTI to imaging site, scanner, protocol, and post-processing variations is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and identify key sources of variation in cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) data.
- To provide foundational data for harmonizing cDTI protocols.
- To facilitate the clinical translation of cDTI.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, multi-center, observational study (SIGNET) involving healthy volunteers.
- Initiated by the SCMR Cardiac Diffusion Special Interest Group (SIG).
- Largest collaborative effort in cardiac diffusion MRI to date, with over 20 international institutions participating.
Main Results:
- The study is designed to yield crucial information on the primary drivers of variability in cDTI.
- Expected to identify specific factors contributing to inconsistencies in imaging results.
Conclusions:
- SIGNET will elucidate major sources of variation in cardiac DTI.
- Findings will inform strategies to minimize and manage variability in cDTI.
- Protocol harmonization is essential for the clinical application of cardiac DTI.
Background:
Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) is an emerging technique for microstructural characterization of the heart and has shown clinical potential in a range of cardiomyopathies. However, there is substantial variation reported for in vivo cDTI results across the literature, and sensitivity of cDTI to differences in imaging sites, scanners, acquisition protocols, and post-processing methods remains incompletely understood.
Methods:
SIGNET is a prospective multi-center, observational study in traveling and non-traveling healthy volunteers. The study was initiated by the executive board of the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) Cardiac Diffusion Special Interest Group (SIG) as a follow-up to a previous multi-center study on phantom validation of cardiac DTI and a recently published SCMR consensus statement on cardiac diffusion MRI. The study has been developed by the Project Management Committee in consultation with the SCMR cardiac diffusion SIG, which includes international experts in cardiac diffusion MRI. To date, more than 20 international institutions have engaged with the study, including sites that are new to cardiac DTI, making this the largest collaborative effort in the field.
Discussion:
SIGNET will provide important information about the key sources of variation in cardiac DTI. This will help rationalize strategies for addressing and minimizing such variation. Harmonization of protocols in this and future studies will underpin efforts to translate cardiac DTI for clinical application.
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