High-resolution myocardial perfusion imaging at 3 T: comparison to 1.5 T in healthy volunteers.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate high-resolution (HR) myocardial first-pass perfusion in healthy volunteers at 3 T compared to a typical clinical imaging protocol at 1.5 T, with respect to overall image quality and the presence of subendocardial dark rim artifacts. Myocardial first-pass rest perfusion studies were performed at both field strengths using a T1-weighted saturation-recovery segmented k-space gradient-echo sequence combined with parallel imaging (Gd-DTPA 0.05 mmol/kg). Twenty-six healthy volunteers underwent (1) a HR perfusion scan at 3 T(pixel size 3.78 mm(2)) and (2) a standard perfusion approach at 1.5 T(pixel size 9.86 mm(2)). The contrast enhancement ratio (CER) and overall image quality (4-point grading scale: 4: excellent; 1: non-diagnostic) were assessed, and a semiquantitative analysis of dark rim artifacts was performed for all studies. CER was slightly higher (1.31 +/- 0.32 vs. 1.14 +/- 0.34; p<0.01), overall image quality was significantly improved (3.03 +/- 0.43 vs. 2.37 +/- 0.39; p<0.01), and the number of dark rim artifacts (139 +/- 2.09 vs. 243 +/- 2.33; p<0.01) was significantly reduced for HR perfusion imaging at 3 T compared to the standard approach at 1.5 T. HR myocardial rest perfusion at 3 T is superior to the typical clinical perfusion protocol performed at 1.5 T with respect to the overall image quality and presence of subendocardial dark rim artifacts.
Strach
K
K
Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Meyer
C
C
Thomas
D
D
Naehle
C P
CP
Schmitz
C
C
Litt
H
H
Bernstein
A
A
Cheng
B
B
Schild
H
H
Sommer
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016477:Artifacts; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D015646:Ventriculography, First-Pass / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA