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Cardiac T2 star mapping: standardized inline analysis of long and short axis at three identical 1.5 T MRI scanners

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Abstract

T2 star mapping can be applied for in vivo cardiac iron quantification. Current recommendations of imaging acquisition, post-processing and interpretation of normal values are based on old scanner types and in house software packages. A standardized comparison of short (SAX) and long axis (LAX) segments using commercially available software packages and modern scanners is lacking. To provide a standardized comparison of T2 star time values in SAX and LAX and to investigate intersegmental, interregional and inter-level comparison and the interscanner reproducibility. 84 cardiac MRIs in 28 healthy volunteers were performed with three structurally identical 1.5 T MRI scanners. A commercially available software package for T2 star mapping with automatic in-line motion correction was used for analysis. Regions of interest were manually placed in each of the 16 myocardial segments according to the AHA model in three SAX and three LAX. A total of 2856 ROIs were drawn and 102 segments per volunteer were analysed. Interscanner reproducibility was high (91%) and the mean myocardial T2 star time value for all evaluated segments was 34 ± 5.7 ms. No significant difference was found between all measurements in SAX (35 ± 5.5 ms) and LAX (34 ± 5.8 ms). T2 star time values varied significantly between heart segments in the same axis and in 44% between corresponding SAX and LAX segments. T2 star time values in SAX and LAX have a high interscanner reproducibility but can vary significantly between heart segments in the same axis. Comparability between corresponding SAX and LAX segments is limited. To get representative results T2 star time values should be obtained in more than one heart segment and for follow-up studies identical segments should be used to avoid a systematic bias.

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Abbreviations

AHA:

American Heart Association

bpm:

Beats per minute

cMRI:

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

ECG:

Electrocardiography

FOV:

Field of view

ICC:

Intraclass correlation coefficient

LAX:

Long axis view

LE:

Late enhancement

MHz:

Megahertz

MOLLI:

Modified look-locker inversion recovery sequence

ms:

Milliseconds

ROI:

Region of interest

RR:

RR-interval

SAX:

Short axis view

T:

Tesla

TE:

Echo time

TI:

Inversion time

TR:

Repetition time

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Maximiliansplatz 3, 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Rafael Heiss, Marco Wiesmueller, Christoph Treutlein, Hannes Seuss, Michael Uder, Matthias May & Wolfgang Wuest

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  1. Rafael Heiss
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  2. Marco Wiesmueller
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  3. Christoph Treutlein
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  4. Hannes Seuss
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Correspondence to Rafael Heiss.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Institutional review board approval was obtained and all volunteers gave written informed consent.

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Heiss, R., Wiesmueller, M., Treutlein, C. et al. Cardiac T2 star mapping: standardized inline analysis of long and short axis at three identical 1.5 T MRI scanners. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 35, 695–702 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-018-1503-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-018-1503-1

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