Fully Automated Plane Prescription in Cardiac MRI: A Prospective Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Medical Imaging Technology
• Radiology

Background:

• Accurate plane positioning is crucial for high-quality cardiac MRI but demands specialized expertise, limiting its widespread use.
• Current methods for cardiac MRI plane prescription require significant training and experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of an automated plane positioning tool for cardiac MRI.
• To compare the performance of automated versus manual plane planning in cardiac MRI.

Main Methods:

• Prospective evaluation involving 57 healthy volunteers and 20 cardiac MRI patients.
• Comparison of image plane quality and volumetric parameters (LVEDV, LVESV, LVSV, LVEF) between automated and manual planning.
• Radiologist assessment using a Likert scale and statistical analysis including Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank tests and Bland-Altman analyses.

Main Results:

• Automated plane positioning was successful in all volunteers, with image quality scores (4.64) statistically similar to manual planning (4.62).
• No significant differences were observed in volumetric parameters between automated and manual planning methods.
• In patients, 91.2% of automated prescriptions were accepted without manual correction, demonstrating high accuracy and efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Automated plane positioning offers a viable alternative to manual planning for cardiac MRI.
• The tool provides high-quality images and accurate volumetric assessment, potentially increasing the accessibility of cardiac MRI.
• This automated approach streamlines the cardiac MRI workflow and reduces reliance on expert training.