Single breath-hold assessment of ventricular volumes using 32-channel coil technology and an extracellular contrast agent

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of a single breath-hold 3D cine balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) sequence after gadolinium diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-DTPA) injection for volumetric cardiac assessment. Materials and Methods: Fifteen adult patients routinely referred for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) underwent quantitative ventricular volumetry on a clinical 1.5T MR-scanner using a 32-channel cardiac coil. A stack of 2D cine b-SSFP slices covering the ventricles was used as reference, followed by a single breath-hold 3D cine balanced SSFP protocol acquired before and after administration of Gd-DTPA. The acquisition was accelerated using SENSE in both phase encoding directions. Volumetric and contrast-to-noise data for each technique were assessed and compared. Results: The 3D cine protocol was accomplished within one breath-hold (mean acquisition time 20 sec; spatial resolution 2.1 × 2.1 × 10 mm; temporal resolution 51 msec). The contrast-to-noise ratio between blood and myocardium was 234 determined for the multiple 2D cine data, and could be increased for the 3D acquisition from 136 (3D precontrast) to 203 (3D postcontrast) after injecting Gd-DTPA. In addition the endocardial definition was significantly improved in postcontrast 3D cine b-SSFP. There was no significant difference for left and right ventricular volumes between standard 2D and 3D postcontrast cine b-SSFP. However, Bland-Altman plots showed greater bias and scatter when comparing 2D with 3D cine b-SSFP without contrast. Conclusion: 3D cine b-SSFP imaging of the heart using 32 channel coil technology and spatial undersampling allows reliable volumetric assessment within a single breath-hold after application of Gd-DTPA.