Myocardial tagging with steady state free precession techniques and semi-automatic postprocessing—impact on diagnostic value

Johnson, Thorsten R. C.; Bayrhof, N.; Huber, Armin; Kuijer, Joost P.A.; Luechinger, Roger; Dietrich, Olaf; Stoevesandt, Dietrich; Pedersen, Dorthe; Reiser, Maximilian; Schoenberg, Stefan O.

doi:10.1007/s00330-007-0639-5

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…When compared to SPGR with ramped flip angles, the ramped flip angle bSSFP sequence provided double the tagging contrast during the same scan time [88]. In 2007, Johnson et al conducted a study to assess the diagnostic value of myocardial tagging with bSSFP, and concluded that bSSFP was superior to the gradient echo sequence [89]. The improved tagging contrast and tag persistence with bSSFP facilitated post-processing and enabled diastolic function analysis.…”

Section: Data Acquisition Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Myocardial tagging by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: evolution of techniques–pulse sequences, analysis algorithms, and applications

Ibrahim

2011

Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance

236

211

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Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) tagging has been established as an essential technique for measuring regional myocardial function. It allows quantification of local intramyocardial motion measures, e.g. strain and strain rate. The invention of CMR tagging came in the late eighties, where the technique allowed for the first time for visualizing transmural myocardial movement without having to implant physical markers. This new idea opened the door for a series of developments and improvements that continue up to the present time. Different tagging techniques are currently available that are more extensive, improved, and sophisticated than they were twenty years ago. Each of these techniques has different versions for improved resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), scan time, anatomical coverage, three-dimensional capability, and image quality. The tagging techniques covered in this article can be broadly divided into two main categories: 1) Basic techniques, which include magnetization saturation, spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM), delay alternating with nutations for tailored excitation (DANTE), and complementary SPAMM (CSPAMM); and 2) Advanced techniques, which include harmonic phase (HARP), displacement encoding with stimulated echoes (DENSE), and strain encoding (SENC). Although most of these techniques were developed by separate groups and evolved from different backgrounds, they are in fact closely related to each other, and they can be interpreted from more than one perspective. Some of these techniques even followed parallel paths of developments, as illustrated in the article. As each technique has its own advantages, some efforts have been made to combine different techniques together for improved image quality or composite information acquisition. In this review, different developments in pulse sequences and related image processing techniques are described along with the necessities that led to their invention, which makes this article easy to read and the covered techniques easy to follow. Major studies that applied CMR tagging for studying myocardial mechanics are also summarized. Finally, the current article includes a plethora of ideas and techniques with over 300 references that motivate the reader to think about the future of CMR tagging.

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Section: Data Acquisition Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Myocardial tagging by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: evolution of techniques–pulse sequences, analysis algorithms, and applications

Ibrahim

2011

Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance

236

211

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“…However, imaging at high fields may also introduce additional SSFP off‐resonance and flow artifacts due to increased susceptibility effects. Although standard tagging based on RF‐spoiled gradient echo imaging has been evaluated at 1.5 and 3T (19, 20), no results on SSFP‐tagging at 3T and no direct comparison of SSFP‐tagging at different field strengths have been reported to date.…”

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confidence: 99%

Balanced left ventricular myocardial SSFP‐tagging at 1.5T and 3T

Markl¹,

Scherer²,

Frydrychowicz³

et al. 2008

Magnetic Resonance in Med

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The purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of steady-state free precession (SSFP)-tagging at 1.5T and 3T and to define the ideal settings with respect to optimized tag contrast throughout the cardiac cycle for both field strengths. To identify optimal imaging parameters data acquisition was repeated for different flip angles. Left ventricular tag-tissue contrast, tag fading times, tag persistence, and myocardial signalto-noise ratio (SNR) were quantified in basal, mid-ventricular, and apical slice locations. To assess the effect of field strength on image quality and artifact level, additional semiquantitative image grading was performed by two experienced readers. SSFP-tagging at 3T proved superior to 1.5T and provided significantly enhanced tag persistence and myocardial SNR while maintaining overall image quality and artifact level. Key words: tagging; SSFP; myocardial motion; cardiac MRI; 3 TeslaLeft ventricular tagging is a powerful method for analyzing regional myocardial function, which was originally based on RF spoiled gradient echo (GRE) CINE imaging (1-4). In addition to the assessment of myocardial motion by visual inspection of tag deformation, tag tracking algorithms and volumetric deformable models have been applied for detailed quantitative evaluation of left ventricular performance (5-9).More recently, balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) CINE MRI techniques were developed for cardiac applications providing considerably enhanced blood-tissue contrast and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) efficiency compared to GRE techniques (10 -13).In this context, the application of SSFP-tagging (combined SPAMM tagging and balanced CINE SSFP imaging) has proven to be useful for the study of myocardial performance as it offers a substantial improvement in tagtissue contrast, tag-persistence, and overall image SNR when compared to conventional tagging methods (14 -16).Despite its improved performance, SSFP-tagging still suffers from temporal fading of the tag-tissue contrast and reduced tag visibility during diastole and consequently impaired evaluation of diastolic ventricular diastolic function. On the one hand, tag fading is influenced by tissue specific T 1 -relaxation. Additionally, repeated RF-excitations drive the inverted longitudinal magnetization of the tags toward the steady state (17). Consequently, in SSFP imaging the flip angle can be used to influence tag-persistence and SNR. Previous studies at a field strength of 1.5T have shown that an ideal trade-off between tag-persistence and SNR can be found at smaller flip angles on the order of 20 -30°(14,15).MR imaging at 3T is ideally suited for the application of SSFP-tagging. In addition to SNR improvements, imaging at 3T offers prolonged T 1 -relaxation times in myocardial tissue (867 ms at 1.5T vs. 1115 ms at 3T) (18). Thus, reduced tag fading as a result of T 1 lengthening is expected. Moreover, higher SNR at 3T may offer improved image quality for imaging at small flip angles, which is crucial for high field applications due to s...

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Kardiales MR-Tagging

2010

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Myocardial MR tagging is a powerful method which allows for assessment of myocardial function and may become an important tool for clinical evaluation of cardiac dysfunction, particularly in ischemic heart disease. In addition to visual assessment it allows direct quantification of myocardial deformation and strain to measure contractility. The use of myocardial tagging has provided new insights into the (patho)physiology of regional wall motion, and several parameters have been described as being useful to identify an ischemic response of the myocardium. One challenge encountered with tagging at 1.5 T is the fading of tags at end-diastole, greatly limiting the evaluation of myocardial function during diastole. Due to longer T(1) relaxation times of the myocardium, tagging at 3 T has shown to have a higher CNR(Tag) and better tag persistence when compared to current clinical gradient-echo tagging protocols at 1.5 T. As a consequence, tagging at higher field strengths may be well suited for the characterization of the diastolic portion of the cardiac cycle in future applications.

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Myocardial tagging with steady state free precession techniques and semi-automatic postprocessing—impact on diagnostic value

Cited by 5 publications

References 28 publications

Myocardial tagging by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: evolution of techniques–pulse sequences, analysis algorithms, and applications

Myocardial tagging by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance: evolution of techniques–pulse sequences, analysis algorithms, and applications

Balanced left ventricular myocardial SSFP‐tagging at 1.5T and 3T

Kardiales MR-Tagging

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