title: Usefulness of non-contrast-enhanced MRI with two-dimensional balanced steady-state free precession for the acquisition of the pulmonary venous and left atrial anatomy pre catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: Comparison with contrast enhanced CT in clinical cases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate the feasibility of substituting non-contrast-enhanced MR (non-CE-MR) imaging with a two-dimensional (2D) balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) sequence for contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-four patients that underwent AF ablation under the guidance of a 3D electro-anatomical mapping system with CE-CT (n = 27) or non-CE-MR images (n = 27) were studied. Procedural results were compared between the two groups. Furthermore, in 22 patients who underwent both CE-CT and non-CE-MRI, two cardiologists independently scored the multiplanar reformatted images on a scale of 1 to 4 (from 1, poor, to 4, excellent).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The image score was nearly 0.5 point higher with the CE-CT method. However, the procedural results such as the surface registration error (1.0 [0.8-1.6] mm versus 1.0 [0.8-1.35] mm, P = 0.88) and procedure time (185 [159-199] min versus 185 [142-221] min, P = 0.86) did not significantly differ between the CE-CT and non-CE-MR groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The non-CE-MR method with a 2D-b-SSFP sequence can give us adequate information on AF ablation without any radiation exposure or contrast medium usage
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shigenaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okajima
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazushi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikeuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shimane
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiminobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teranishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kousuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Misato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuyo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yasaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Himeji Cardiovascular Center, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: atrial fibrillation (AF); electro-anatomical mapping system (EAM); left atrium (LA); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); pulmonary vein (PV); steady-state free precession (SSFP)