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PET and MRI in cardiac imaging: from validation studies to integrated applications

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Positron emission tomography (PET) is the gold standard for non-invasive assessment of myocardial viability and allows accurate detection of coronary artery disease by assessment of myocardial perfusion. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides high resolution anatomical images that allow accurate evaluation of ventricular structure and function together with detection of myocardial infarction.

Objective

Potential hybrid PET/MR tomography may potentially facilitate the combination of information from these imaging modalities in cardiology. Furthermore, the combination of anatomical MRI images with the high sensitivity of PET for detecting molecular targets may extent the application of these modalities to the characterization of atherosclerotic plaques and to the evaluation of angiogenetic or stem cell therapies, for example.

Discussion

This article reviews studies using MRI and PET in parallel to compare their performance in cardiac applications together with the potential benefits and applications provided by hybrid PET/MRI systems.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Saraste received financial assistance from the EC-FP6-project DiMI (LSHBCT-2005-512146) and the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research. A. Martinez-Moeller is funded partially by a research grant from Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Technischen Universität München, München, Germany

    Stephan G. Nekolla

  2. Nuklearmedizinische Klinik, Technischen Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675, München, Germany

    Stephan G. Nekolla, Axel Martinez-Moeller & Antti Saraste

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  1. Stephan G. Nekolla
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Correspondence to Stephan G. Nekolla.

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Nekolla, S.G., Martinez-Moeller, A. & Saraste, A. PET and MRI in cardiac imaging: from validation studies to integrated applications. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 36 (Suppl 1), 121–130 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0980-1

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