title: Single breath-hold volumetric imaging of the heart using magnetization-prepared 3-dimensional segmented echo planar imaging.
abstract: We show the feasibility of single breath-hold volumetric imaging of the heart using a three-dimensional (3D) segmented echo planar imaging (EPI) pulse sequence. Fifteen healthy subjects were evaluated using three magnetization preparation schemes: (a) a driven equilibrium T2-weighted preparation for bright blood and dark myocardium; (b) a STEAM magnetization preparation for dark blood; and (c) fat suppression for coronary artery imaging. An interleaved EPI trajectory encoding six echoes per interleave with a 1090 Hz/pixel readout bandwidth was used to collect a 126 x 256 matrix in 22 heartbeats with data acquisition windows per cardiac cycle of 71-285 msec for 8-32 sections. Multiplanar reconstructions could be used if thin (1-3 mm) sections were acquired. Breath-hold volumetric imaging with 3D segmented EPI holds promise for rapid volumetric evaluation of cardiac anatomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Wielopolski
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Edelman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016477:Artifacts; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D012119:Respiration