Feasibility of Free-Breathing, Non-ECG-Gated, Black-Blood Cine Magnetic Resonance Images With Multitasking in Measuring Left Ventricular Function Indices
- Author:
Pengfei PENG
1
;
Xun YUE
;
Lu TANG
;
Xi WU
;
Qiao DENG
;
Tao WU
;
Lei CAI
;
Qi LIU
;
Jian XU
;
Xiaoqi HUANG
;
Yucheng CHEN
;
Kaiyue DIAO
;
Jiayu SUN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Korean Journal of Radiology 2023;24(12):1221-1231
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objective:To clinically validate the feasibility and accuracy of cine images acquired through the multitasking method, with no electrocardiogram gating and free-breathing, in measuring left ventricular (LV) function indices by comparing them with those acquired through the balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) method, with multiple breath-holds and electrocardiogram gating.
Materials and Methods:Forty-three healthy volunteers (female:male, 30:13; mean age, 23.1 ± 2.3 years) and 36 patients requiring an assessment of LV function for various clinical indications (female:male, 22:14; 57.8 ± 11.3 years) were enrolled in this prospective study. Each participant underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the multiple breath-hold bSSFP method and free-breathing multitasking method. LV function parameters were measured for both MRI methods. Image quality was assessed through subjective image quality scores (1 to 5) and calculation of the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between the myocardium and blood pool. Differences between the two MRI methods were analyzed using the Bland–Altman plot, paired t-test, or Wilcoxon signed-rank test, as appropriate.
Results:LV ejection fraction (LVEF) was not significantly different between the two MRI methods (P = 0.222 in healthy volunteers and P = 0.343 in patients). LV end-diastolic mass was slightly overestimated with multitasking in both healthy volunteers (multitasking vs. bSSFP, 60.5 ± 10.7 g vs. 58.0 ± 10.4 g, respectively; P < 0.001) and patients (69.4 ± 18.1 g vs. 66.8 ± 18.0 g, respectively; P = 0.003). Acceptable and comparable image quality was achieved for both MRI methods (multitasking vs. bSSFP, 4.5 ± 0.7 vs. 4.6 ± 0.6, respectively; P = 0.203). The CNR between the myocardium and blood pool showed no significant differences between the two MRI methods (18.89 ± 6.65 vs. 18.19 ± 5.83, respectively; P = 0.480).
Conclusion:Multitasking-derived cine images obtained without electrocardiogram gating and breath-holding achieved similar image quality and accurate quantification of LVEF in healthy volunteers and patients.
