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Whole heart magnetization‐prepared steady‐state free precession coronary vein MRI
Author(s) -
Stoeck Christian T.,
Han Yuchi,
Peters Dana C.,
Hu Peng,
Yeon Susan B.,
Kissinger Kraig V.,
Goddu Beth,
Goepfert Lois,
Manning Warren J.,
Kozerke Sebastian,
Nezafat Reza
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.21788
Subject(s) - steady state free precession imaging , coronary sinus , great cardiac vein , coronary vein , medicine , cardiac resynchronization therapy , vein , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , nuclear medicine , biomedical engineering , heart failure , cardiology , ejection fraction
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.