title: Cardiac chamber quantification using magnetic resonance imaging at 7 Tesla--a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Interest in cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) at 7 T is motivated by the expected increase in spatial and temporal resolution, but the method is technically challenging. We examined the feasibility of cardiac chamber quantification at 7 T.
  
  
  METHODS
  A stack of short axes covering the left ventricle was obtained in nine healthy male volunteers. At 1.5 T, steady-state free precession (SSFP) and fast gradient echo (FGRE) cine imaging with 7 mm slice thickness (STH) were used. At 7 T, FGRE with 7 mm and 4 mm STH were applied. End-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, ejection fraction and mass were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 7 T examinations provided excellent blood/myocardium contrast for all slice directions. No significant difference was found regarding ejection fraction and cardiac volumes between SSFP at 1.5 T and FGRE at 7 T, while volumes obtained from FGRE at 1.5 T were underestimated. Cardiac mass derived from FGRE at 1.5 and 7 T was larger than obtained from SSFP at 1.5 T. Agreement of volumes and mass between SSFP at 1.5 T and FGRE improved for FGRE at 7 T when combined with an STH reduction to 4 mm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This pilot study demonstrates that cardiac chamber quantification at 7 T using FGRE is feasible and agrees closely with SSFP at 1.5 T.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Nephrology, HELIOS Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Schwanebecker Chaussee 50, 13125 Berlin, Germany. florian.von-knobelsdorff@charite.de
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: von Knobelsdorff-Brenkenhoff
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Frauenrath
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prothmann
authors.forename: Matthias A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dieringer
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hezel
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Renz
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kretschel
authors.forename: Thoralf
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niendorf
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schulz-Menger
mesh_terms: D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult