Whole heart magnetization‐prepared steady‐state free precession coronary vein MRI |
| |
Authors: | Christian T Stoeck MSc Yuchi Han MD Dana C Peters PhD Peng Hu PhD Susan B Yeon MD Kraig V Kissinger BS RT Beth Goddu RT Lois Goepfert RN MS Warren J Manning MD Sebastian Kozerke PhD Reza Nezafat PhD |
| |
Institution: | 1. Department of Medicine (Cardiovascular Division), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;2. Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Switzerland;3. Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts |
| |
Abstract: | Purpose To compare two coronary vein imaging techniques using whole‐heart balanced steady‐state free precession (SSFP) and a targeted double‐oblique spoiled gradient‐echo (GRE) sequences in combination with magnetization transfer (MT) preparation sequence for tissue contrast improvement. Materials and Methods Nine healthy subjects were imaged with the proposed technique. The results are compared with optimized targeted MT prepared GRE acquisitions. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed to evaluate each imaging method. Results Whole‐heart images were successfully acquired with no visible image artifact in the vicinity of the coronary veins. The anatomical features and visual grading of both techniques were comparable. However, the targeted small slab acquisition of the left ventricular lateral wall was superior to whole‐heart acquisition for visualization of relevant information for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) lead implantation. Conclusion We demonstrated the feasibility of whole‐heart coronary vein MRI using a 3D MT‐SSFP imaging sequence. A targeted acquisition along the lateral left ventricular wall is preferred for visualization of branches commonly used in CRT lead implantation. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:1293–1299. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
| |
Keywords: | 3D SSFP whole‐heart MRI coronary vein imaging magnetization transfer contrast |
|
|