[Magnetic resonance tomography in heart septal defects. Model studies on parameter optimizing]

Various flow phenomena can occur in MR tomography of the heart. In the present study the influence of various examination parameters on the imaging of flow phenomena behind cardiac septum defects was investigated by means of a model. In the examination by fast field echo sequence (FFE) the contrast between poststenotic jet and surrounding area was most pronounced if short echo times (TE 10 ms), a narrow flip angle (d = 10 degrees) and layers of minor thickness (d = 5 mm) had been selected. The number of acquisitions and the flow compensation exercised only slight influence on contrast. Our results point to the possibility of obtaining quantitative information on cardiac septum defects if the influence of examination parameters on the imaging of flow phenomena is accurately known.