title: W(h)ither human cardiac and body magnetic resonance at ultrahigh fields? technical advances, practical considerations, applications, and clinical opportunities.
abstract: The objective of this study was to document and review advances and groundbreaking progress in cardiac and body MR at ultrahigh fields (UHF, B0 ≥ 7.0 T) with the goal to attract talent, clinical adopters, collaborations and resources to the biomedical and diagnostic imaging communities. This review surveys traits, advantages and challenges of cardiac and body MR at 7.0 T. The considerations run the gamut from technical advances to clinical opportunities. Key concepts, emerging technologies, practical considerations, frontier applications and future directions of UHF body and cardiac MR are provided. Examples of UHF cardiac and body imaging strategies are demonstrated. Their added value over the kindred counterparts at lower fields is explored along with an outline of research promises. The achievements of cardiac and body UHF-MR are powerful motivators and enablers, since extra speed, signal and imaging capabilities may be invested to overcome the fundamental constraints that continue to hamper traditional cardiac and body MR applications. If practical obstacles, concomitant physics effects and technical impediments can be overcome in equal measure, sophisticated cardiac and body UHF-MR will help to open the door to new MRI and MRS approaches for basic research and clinical science, with the lessons learned at 7.0 T being transferred into broad clinical use including diagnostics and therapy guiding at lower fields. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.|DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Thoralf
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niendorf
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Celal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oezerdem
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Graessl
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klix
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huelnhagen
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hezel
authors.affiliation: MRI.TOOLS GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.affiliation: MRI.TOOLS GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Helmar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Waiczies
authors.affiliation: Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH, am Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen, Germany.|DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frahm
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Armin M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nagel
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oberacker
authors.affiliation: Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (BUFF), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Winter
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D057791:Cardiac Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
keywords: MR technology; MRI; RF coils; body imaging; cardiovascular imaging; heteronuclear MR; magnetic resonance; ultrahigh field