Tissue characterization of myocardial infarction using T1ρ: Influence of contrast dose and time of imaging after contrast administration

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 1040 - 1046
• Main Authors: Huber, Steffen, Muthupillai, Raja, Lambert, Brenda, Pereyra, Mercedes, Napoli, Alicia, Flamm, Scott D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.11.2006
• Subjects: acute myocardial infarction; contrast dose; delayed enhancement; myocardial viability; spin locking
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.20720

Purpose To determine whether contrast between acutely infarcted and normal myocardia in T1‐rho‐weighted cine TFE (T1ρ‐TFE) and delayed‐enhancement (DE) images (measured using a metric percent enhancement (PE)) varied with the dose or time of imaging after contrast administration. Materials and Methods Eighteen patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were randomly divided into three groups according to the dose of gadoversetamide (0.1, 0.2, or 0.3 mmol/kg) administered. After contrast administration, T1ρ‐TFE images were acquired at five and 40 minutes, and DE images were acquired at 10 and 30 minutes. Results For T1ρ‐TFE imaging the PE values at 40 minutes were 70 ± 14, 98 ± 14, and 105 ± 41 at 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mmol/kg dose levels, which were significantly greater than the corresponding PEs at five minutes after contrast administration (44 ± 12, 71 ±14, and 36 ± 13). For DE and T1ρ‐TFE imaging the dose of contrast agent did not significantly affect the PE. However, with DE the PE tended to increase with the dose. At all dose levels, irreversible injury was more conspicuous in T1ρ‐TFE images acquired at 40 minutes than at five minutes after contrast. Conclusion In T1ρ‐TFE, acute infarction was more conspicuous in images acquired at a later time point, and the PE did not vary with the contrast dose. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.