High temporal resolution SSFP cine MRI for estimation of left ventricular diastolic parameters

Purpose:

To obtain high temporal resolution (HTR) magnetic resonance (MR) steady‐state free‐precession (SSFP) cine cardiac images by using multichannel radiofrequency (RF) hardware and parallel imaging techniques; to study the effect of temporal resolution; and to compare the derived left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling parameters with echocardiographic results.

Materials and Methods:

HTR images were acquired in 13 healthy volunteers using a 1.5 T scanner with 32 RF channels and sensitivity encoding (SENSE) and k‐t broad‐use linear‐acquisition speedup technique (k‐t BLAST) imaging techniques. LV diastolic parameters were calculated and compared to conventional echocardiographic indices such as the isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) and E/A ratio. The need for HTR was assessed and the MR results were compared with echocardiographic results.

Results:

The HTR (≈6‐ms) images yielded higher peak filling rates, peak ejection rates, and peak atrial filling rates. A progressive decline in filling and ejection rates was observed with worsening temporal resolution. The IVRTs and E/A ratios measured with MR versus echocardiography were in broad agreement. Also, SENSE and k‐t BLAST yielded similar diastolic functional parameters.

Conclusion:

With SENSE or k‐t BLAST and modern hardware, HTR cine images can be obtained. The lower temporal resolutions (30–50 ms) used in clinical practice reduce LV filling rates by ≤30% and may hinder characterization of transient phenomena such as the IVRT. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;31:872–880. ©2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.