Comparison of magnetic resonance real-time imaging of left ventricular function with conventional magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9149(00)01279-0Get rights and content

Abstract

This study analyzes the accuracy of a new real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique (acquisition duration, 62 ms/image) and echocardiography for the determination of left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, ejection fraction, and muscle mass when compared with turbo gradient echo imaging as the reference standard. Thirty-four patients were examined with digital echocardiography, standard, and real-time MRI. A close correlation was found between the results of real-time imaging and the reference standard for end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and ejection fraction (r >0.95), with a lower correlation for LV muscle mass (r = 0.81). Correlations between echocardiography and the reference standard were lower for all parameters. Real-time MRI enables the acquisition of high-quality cine loops of the entire heart in minimal time without electrocardiographic triggering or breath holding. Thus, patient setup and scan time can be reduced considerably. Results are similar to the reference standard and superior to echocardiography for determining LV volumes and ejection fraction. This technique is a valid alternative to current approaches and can form the basis of every cardiac MRI examination.

Section snippets

Patients

The study was approved by the institutional review committee of Humboldt University, Berlin. Forty patients were included in the study after giving written informed consent. Five had to be excluded because of a nondiagnostic echocardiogram due to insufficient image quality, and 1 patient was excluded because of claustrophobia in the magnetic resonance scanner; thus, the study consisted of 34 patients. The study group had the following characteristics: 21 men and 13 women, aged 57 ± 13 years

Results

The real-time technique image quality and contrast between blood and the endocardium were sufficient in all 34 patients for contour detection and evaluation of end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and muscle mass. The results are given in Table 2. For end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and ejection fraction, a close correlation between the results of real-time compared with turbo gradient imaging was found (r >0.95). The correlations as well as absolute and mean relative

Discussion

With the new real-time MRI technique, it was possible to acquire high-quality images of the beating heart in real-time with a temporal resolution of 62 ms without electrocardiographic triggering. Real-time images yielded sufficient image quality, with a high contrast between blood and the endocardium, to enable quantitative assessment of LV volumes, muscle mass, and ejection fraction. Compared with the reference standard, determination of end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes and ejection

References (18)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

This study was supported by Philips Medical Systems, Hamburg, Germany, and Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands.

View full text