Diagnostic cardiac catheterization procedures in children have been largely replaced by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies. However, when invasive catheterization is required, MR imaging has a significant role to play, when combined with invasive pressure measurements. Beyond the established reduction to the radiation dose involved, solely MR image-guided or MR ...

Cardiac complications are a common feature of many muscular dystrophies. Although many modalities (eg, ultrasound) provide exceptional efficacy for early diagnosis, repeated monitoring, and therapeutic management, MRI has become the gold standard for anatomic and functional characterization. An increasing number of studies, especially in the dystrophinopathies, use strain imaging to ...

This is a case report of a young healthy adult who had acute cerebral infarcts after a short-term visit to high-altitude area. He developed acute onset of right-sided limb weakness and right hemianopia a few hours after arrival at an altitude of 3600 m by train. He was initially treated ...

OBJECTIVES: To compare Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Computed Tomography (CT) for the assessment of left (LV) and right (RV) ventricular functional parameters. METHODS: Seventy nine patients underwent both Cardiac CT and Cardiac MR. Images were acquired using short axis (SAX) reconstructions for CT and 2D cine b-SSFP (balanced-steady state free ...

We report the comprehensive evaluation of the complex hemodynamics in a rare case of a pediatric patient after repair of congenital heart disease with multiple abnormalities including hypoplastic left heart, double outlet right ventricle, transposition of great arteries, ventricular septal defect, aortic coarctation, and total cavopulmonary connection. Based on a ...

PURPOSE: To investigate MRI of the fetal heart by way of a novel triggering method with the use of an MR-compatible cardiotocography (CTG) in an animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fetal cardiac MRI was performed on four pregnant ewes on a 1.5 Tesla (T) MR system. A CTG was rendered ...

BACKGROUND: -Carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) catalyses the reversible conversion of acetyl-CoA into acetylcarnitine. The aim of this study was to use the metabolic tracer hyperpolarised [2-(13)C]pyruvate with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to determine if CAT facilitates carbohydrate oxidation in the heart. METHODS AND RESULTS: -Ex vivo, following hyperpolarised [2-(13)C]pyruvate infusion, the ...

Cardiac sarcoidosis is a potentially fatal complication of sarcoidosis. The 1993 guidelines of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan have been used as the diagnostic gold standard and for comparison with imaging modalities. (18)F-FDG PET is not currently included in the guidelines. However, studies have shown ...

OBJECTIVE: To experimentally evaluate three different contrast injection protocols at thoraco-abdominal high-pitch dual-source computed tomography angiography (CTA), with regard to level and homogeneity of vascular enhancement at different cardiac outputs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A uniphasic, a biphasic as well as an individually tailored contrast protocol were tested using a human ...

Heart failure is a common syndrome with multiple causes. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), using the available range of technique, is establishing itself as the gold standard noninvasive test for determining the underlying causes, and adding prognostic value, guiding therapy. Progress is continuing and rapid with promising new techniques such as ...

Diprosopus is the rarest form of conjoined twinning. This anomaly is characterised by craniofacial duplication to varying degrees and is associated with anomalies of the central nervous, cardiac, respiratory and musculoskeletal systems. We present an infant characterised as diprosopus tetraophthalmus who underwent post-mortem CT, which served as a highly useful ...

Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a rare idiopathic disorder, characterized by the infiltration of 1 or more organs by large mononuclear cells. It can develop at any age. Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is found more frequently and is better described in adults than in children. The PLCH findings on computed ...

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac MDCT and cardiovascular MRI have become widely used for the evaluation of cardiovascular disease, including aortic valve disease. The purpose of this article is to present the cardiac MDCT and cardiovascular MRI findings of bicuspid aortic valve, its various complications, and other congenital cardiovascular malformations. CONCLUSION: Radiologists should ...

Cardiac lipomas are rare, mostly asymptomatic, and usually found incidentally during noncardiac examinations; however, they also can be symptomatic, depending on their size and location. Here, we report a case of surgically proved pericardial lipoma that was big and for which cardiac structures were substantially altered. The combination of CT ...

Lack of dystrophin results in skeletal muscle dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy in humans and animal models. To achieve a basic understanding of the natural development of cardiomyopathy in different dystrophinopathy mouse models, left and right ventricular heart function was assessed at different ages in three dystrophinopathy mouse models (mdx, mdx/utrn(+/-) ...

To investigate the clinical significance of the application of 320-row CT angiography with low-dose prospective ECG-triggered target scanning in children with complex congenital heart disease (CHD), and to compare with the results from transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). 22 patients (male 12 cases, female 10 cases, average age: 18 months, range: 14 days-9 years, average ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of hybrid iterative reconstruction on qualitative and quantitative parameters at 256-slice cardiac CT. METHODS: Prospective cardiac CT images from 20 patients were analysed. Paired image sets were created using 3 reconstructions, i.e. filtered back projection (FBP) and moderate- and high-level iterative reconstructions. Quantitative parameters including ...

Cardiac imaging plays an important role in both congenital and acquired heart diseases. Cardiac computed tomography (angiography) cCT(A) is a non-invasive, increasingly popular, complementary modality to echocardiography in evaluation of congenital heart diseases (CHD) in children. Despite radiation exposure, cCT(A) is now commonly used for evaluation of the complex CHD, ...

A 63-year old male with prior bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft surgery presented with dyspnea. C-reactive protein and white blood cells were elevated and serial blood cultures were negative. Transesophageal echocardiography showed a paravalvular leak and a thickened anterior leaflet of unclear either infective or degenerative ...

Micro-CT is currently used in preclinical studies to provide anatomical information. But, there is also significant interest in using this technology to obtain functional information. We report here a new sampling strategy for 4D micro-CT for functional cardiac and pulmonary imaging. Rapid scanning of free-breathing mice is achieved with fast ...

Time-resolved three-dimensional phase-contrast MRI is an important tool for physiological as well as clinical studies of blood flow in the heart and vessels. The application of the technique is, however, limited by the long scan times required. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using spiral readouts to reduce ...

Noninvasive imaging procedures will be important for stem cell therapy for muscular dystrophy (MD). Mesoangioblasts regenerate muscle in animal models of muscular dystrophy. In this study, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were used to visualize mesoangioblasts in vivo with MRI. Mesoangioblasts incorporated superparamagnetic iron oxide without transfection reagents, and cell differentiation ...

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the dynamic changes of the aortic valve (AV) annulus may aid in the sizing and design of transcatheter valve prostheses. We assessed AV annulus distention in patients without AV disease and with severe AV stenosis (AS) using computed tomography (CT). METHODS: Electrocardiogram-gated multislice CT scans of 15 ...

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has proven efficacy in the study of the heart. Its clinical applications are directed primarily at the study of the left ventricle, and the right ventricle is relegated to the background. This article reviews the anatomy and physiology of the right ventricle, as well as the ...

BACKGROUND: Cardiac CT has the potential to offer comprehensive infarct detection by assessing regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs), rest perfusion defects (RPDs), and delayed contrast enhancement (DCE). However, the diagnostic accuracy of these techniques for the detection of myocardial infarction (MI) is unknown. METHODS: Forty-eight patients with intermediate-to-high probability for ...

Cardiac hybrid imaging combines different imaging modalities in a way where both modalities equally contribute to image information. Hybrid positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) imaging is a promising tool for evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) because it enables detection of coronary atherosclerotic lesions by CT angiography and their consequences ...

Diffusion tensor interpolation is an important issue in the application of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) to the human heart, all the more as the points representing the myocardium of the heart are often sparse. We propose a feature-based interpolation framework for the tensor fields from cardiac DT-MRI, by ...

Purpose:To evaluate dipyridamole cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the prediction of major events (MEs) in patients with ischemic chest pain in a large multicenter registry.Materials and Methods:Institutional ethics committee approval and written informed consent were obtained. A total of 1722 patients who were undergoing cardiac MR imaging for chest ...

Background: Cardiac biomarkers play a major role in the identification of patients at risk of early death in AL amyloidosis, and a staging system based on amino-terminal pro-natriuretic peptide type-B (NT-proBNP) and troponins (cTn) is used for prognostic stratification. Adrenomedullin is produced by several tissues including the heart, and portends ...

BACKGROUND: -MR is associated with reduced survival in patients with chronic heart failure, but may be improved with CRT. We sought to evaluate the relationship between serial measurements of functional mitral regurgitation (MR) and reverse remodeling and outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). METHODS AND RESULTS: -266 consecutive ...

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance allows noninvasive and radiation-free visualization of both the coronary arteries and veins, with the advantage of an integrated assessment of cardiac function, viability, perfusion, and anatomy. This combined approach provides valuable integrated information for patients with coronary artery disease and patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy. Moreover, magnetic ...

Imaging plays an important diagnostic and prognostic role in the assessment of pericardial diseases and cardiac tumors and in differentiating these conditions from other cardiac and noncardiac diseases. A number of imaging modalities are available for this task; each has advantages and limitation. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a highly ...

Cardiac magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a noninvasive tool for the assessment of myocardial metabolism, without the use of radiation or intravenous contrast agents. Using the intrinsic magnetic resonance signals from nuclei, including (31)Phosphorus, (1)Hydrogen, (23)Sodium, and (13)Carbon and, more recently, hyperpolarization techniques, MRS provides a comprehensive metabolic assessment of ...

A wide spectrum of masses can affect the heart, ranging from non-malignant entities, such as thrombi, to aggressive primary cardiac tumors, such as angiosarcomas. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging have traditionally formed the mainstay techniques for assessing these lesions. Recent technological advances have seen ECG-gated multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) emerge ...

Congenital defects most-commonly affect the heart, with an estimated incidence of up to 10 in 1,000 live births. Over the past few decades, mortality has decreased and subsequent survival has increased; approximately 90% of all patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) reach adulthood. Echocardiography is sufficient in most cases for ...

Background - It has been shown by histology that cardiac myocytes are organized into laminae and this structure is important in function, both influencing the spread of electrical activation and enabling myocardial thickening in systole by laminar sliding. We have carried out high-spatial resolution 3D MRI of the ventricular myolaminae ...

Objectives.  This study compares image quality, cost, right ventricular ejection fraction analysis, and baffle visualization between transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in those status post atrial switch for transposition of the great arteries. Background.  This population requires imaging for serial evaluations. Transthoracic echocardiography is often first line but ...

Conjoined twins are a rare congenital anomaly with an estimated incidence of 1/50,000 to 1/100,000. Among thoracopagus conjoined twins, 75% have a fused heart. We compare the usefulness of various modalities for evaluating cardiovascular structure in fused-heart conjoined twins. We report a series of 20 sets of thoracopagus conjoined twins ...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a highly advanced and sophisticated imaging modality for cardiac motion tracking and analysis, capable of providing 3D analysis of global and regional cardiac function with great accuracy and reproducibility. In the past few years, numerous efforts have been devoted to cardiac motion recovery and deformation ...

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is avoided in most patients with implanted cardiac devices because of safety concerns. Objective: To define the safety of a protocol for MRI at the commonly used magnetic strength of 1.5 T in patients with implanted cardiac devices. Design: Prospective nonrandomized trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: ...

Rubidium-82 (Rb-82) is commonly used for PET myocardial perfusion imaging. A 61-year-old male patient with coronary artery disease underwent cardiac Rb-82 PET myocardial perfusion and FDG PET myocardial viability scan. Besides myocardium, prominent Rb-82 uptake was identified in several pleural and osseous lesions. These were confirmed to be metastases from ...

OBJECTIVE: MRI is a well-established modality for evaluating congenital and acquired cardiac diseases. This article reviews the latest pulse sequences used for cardiac MRI. In addition, the standard cardiac imaging planes and corresponding anatomy are described and illustrated. CONCLUSION: Familiarity with the basic pulse sequences, imaging planes, and anatomy pertaining ...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a complex genetic cardiovascular disorder with substantial variability in phenotypic expression and natural progression. Recent research demonstrates the incremental utility of cardiac magnetic resonance in the diagnosis, therapeutic planning, and prognostication of this disease. The increasing incorporation of multimodality imaging of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in clinical practice will ...

Cardiac perfusion along with imaging of coronary artery stenosis is an important tool in assessing the degree of coronary artery disease (CAD) and decision-making regarding further treatment. SPECT, PET, echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging are clinically established techniques to evaluate myocardial perfusion and viability with a high diagnostic accuracy ...

To prospectively evaluate the accuracy of quantitative cardiac CT parameters and two cardiac biomarkers (NT-pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-pro-BNP); troponin I), alone and in combination, for predicting right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).557 consecutive patients with suspected PE underwent pulmonary CTA. Patients with PE also underwent ...

The purpose of this study was to test the potential of clinical imaging modalities, 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of acute microinfarcts and to determine the effects of <120 μm microemboli on left ventricular function, perfusion, cardiac injury biomarkers, ...

ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging has expanded its role in the diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease (CHD) and acquired heart disease in pediatric patients. Ongoing technological advancements in both data acquisition and data presentation have enabled CMR to be integrated into clinical practice with increasing understanding of ...

Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) is a rare congenital cardiac entity. The recognition of QAV has clinical significance as it causes aortic valve dysfunction, commonly aortic regurgitation, and is often associated with other congenital cardiac abnormalities. We showed the important role played by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in detecting QAV and ...

Over the last 10 years, the development of newer pulse sequences and applications in new clinical areas has enabled cardiovascular magnetic resonance to emerge as a powerful tool for the physicians to both diagnose and guide treatments of various cardiac pathologies. The greatest strengths of cardiovascular magnetic resonance include the ...

Excessive collagen deposition is a major hallmark of cardiac disease. Fibrosis reduces cardiac function and plays a major role in cardiac arrhythmogeneity. Despite the clinical importance, there is no non-invasive technique for direct detection of myocardial fibrosis yet. Ultra short echo time (UTE) MRI has been shown to detect tissues ...