Hyperpolarized C-13 urea myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging using velocity-selective excitation
Abstract
Background
A velocity-selective binomial excitation scheme for myocardial first-pass perfusion measurements with hyperpolarized 13C substrates, which preserves bolus magnetization inside the blood pool, is presented. The proposed method is evaluated against gadolinium-enhanced 1H measurements in-vivo.
Methods
The proposed excitation with an echo-planar imaging readout was implemented on a clinical CMR system. Dynamic myocardial stress perfusion images were acquired in six healthy pigs after bolus injection of hyperpolarized 13C urea with the velocity-selective vs. conventional excitation, as well as standard 1H gadolinium-enhanced images. Signal-to-noise, contrast-to-noise (CNR) and homogeneity of semi-quantitative perfusion measures were compared between methods based on first-pass signal-intensity time curves extracted from a mid-ventricular slice. Diagnostic feasibility is demonstrated in a case of septal infarction.
Results
Velocity-selective excitation provides over three-fold reduction in blood pool signal with a two-fold increase in myocardial CNR. Extracted first-pass perfusion curves reveal a significantly reduced variability of semi-quantitative first-pass perfusion measures (12–20%) for velocity-selective excitation compared to conventional excitation (28–93%), comparable to that of reference 1H gadolinium data (9–15%). Overall image quality appears comparable between the velocity-selective hyperpolarized and gadolinium-enhanced imaging.
Conclusion
The feasibility of hyperpolarized 13C first-pass perfusion CMR has been demonstrated in swine. Comparison with reference 1H gadolinium data revealed sufficient data quality and indicates the potential of hyperpolarized perfusion imaging for human applications. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000190949Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic ResonanceVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
BioMed CentralSubject
C-13 urea; First-pass perfusion; Dynamic imaging; Myocardial perfusion; HyperpolarizationOrganisational unit
09548 - Kozerke, Sebastian / Kozerke, Sebastian
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