title: 3D myocardial tissue tracking with slice followed cine DENSE MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To track three-dimensional (3D) myocardial tissue motion using slice followed cine displacement encoded imaging with stimulated echoes (DENSE).
  
  
  METHODS
  Slice following (SF) has previously been developed for 2D myocardial tagging to compensate for the effect of through-plane motion on 2D tissue tracking. By incorporating SF into a cine DENSE sequence, and applying displacement encoding in three orthogonal directions, we demonstrate the ability to track discrete elements of a slice of myocardium in 3D as the heart moves through the cardiac cycle. The SF cine DENSE tracking algorithm was validated on a moving phantom, and the effects of through-plane motion on 2D cardiac strain were investigated in six healthy subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A through-plane tracking accuracy of 0.46 +/- 0.32 mm was measured for a typical range of myocardial motion using a rotating phantom. In vivo 3D measurements of cardiac motion were consistent with prior myocardial tagging results. Through-plane rotation in a mid-ventricularshort-axis view was shown to decrease the magnitude of the 2D end-systolic circumferential strain by 3.91 +/- 0.43% and increase the corresponding radial strain by 6.01 +/- 1.07%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Slice followed cine DENSE provides an accurate method for 3D tissue tracking.
authors.affiliation: UCT/MRC Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Bruce S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Spottiswoode
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Christine H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.forename: Bongani M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Mayosi
authors.forename: Ernesta M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Meintjes
authors.forename: Frederick H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Epstein
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging