title: Rapid assessment of myocardial infarct size in rodents using multi-slice inversion recovery late gadolinium enhancement CMR at 9.4T.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Myocardial infarction (MI) can be readily assessed using late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Inversion recovery (IR) sequences provide the highest contrast between enhanced infarct areas and healthy myocardium. Applying such methods to small animals is challenging due to rapid respiratory and cardiac rates relative to T1 relaxation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Here we present a fast and robust protocol for assessing LGE in small animals using a multi-slice IR gradient echo sequence for efficient assessment of LGE. An additional Look-Locker sequence was used to assess the optimum inversion point on an individual basis and to determine most appropriate gating points for both rat and mouse. The technique was applied to two preclinical scenarios: i) an acute (2 hour) reperfused model of MI in rats and ii) mice 2 days following non-reperfused MI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LGE images from all animals revealed clear areas of enhancement allowing for easy volume segmentation. Typical inversion times required to null healthy myocardium in rats were between 300-450 ms equivalent to 2-3 R-waves and ~330 ms in mice, typically 3 R-waves following inversion. Data from rats was also validated against triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and revealed close agreement for infarct size.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The LGE protocol presented provides a reliable method for acquiring images of high contrast and quality without excessive scan times, enabling higher throughput in experimental studies requiring reliable assessment of MI.
authors: UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Medicine and UCL Institute of Child Health, University College London, Medical School, and The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, University College London Hospital, UK. a.price@ich.ucl.ac.uk
authors: Anthony N
authors: AN
authors: Price
authors: King K
authors: KK
authors: Cheung
authors: Shiang Y
authors: SY
authors: Lim
authors: Derek M
authors: DM
authors: Yellon
authors: Derek J
authors: DJ
authors: Hausenloy
authors: Mark F
authors: MF
authors: Lythgoe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003287:Contrast Media; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA