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3D-Dixon MRI based volumetry of peri- and epicardial fat

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Abstract

There is growing evidence that pericardial and epicardial fat volume (PFV, EFV) are associated with cardiovascular risk. We evaluated a novel method for accurate measurement of PFV and EFV using a 3D-Dixon based cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) approach. An electrocardiography triggered and respiratory navigator gated 3D-gradient echo pulse sequence was used for cardiac Dixon imaging. Based on this sequence, voxels predominantly containing fat were identified and added up for volumetry. After accuracy assessment in phantoms, consisting of muscle tissue and seven different fat samples (50–200 ml), the sequence was acquired in 34 healthy volunteers (22 male, BMI range 14–42 kg/m2, age range 21–79 years) at 1.5 T. Analysis was performed independently by two readers who draw two 3D-regions of interest, one for EFV and one for PFV. Additionally, EFV and PFV were compared between overweighted and non-overweighted subjects. The phantom study showed an excellent agreement of measured and true fat volumes (maximum difference = 6 %, linear correlation coefficient R = 1.00). PFV over all volunteers was 158.0 ± 126.4 ml and EFV was 77.0 ± 55.3 ml. PFV and EFV were highly correlated (R = 0.96). Inter-reader agreement was good with a mean difference of 0.2 ± 5.6 and 4.5 ± 4.2 ml for PFV/EFV, (R > 0.99, each). EFV and PFV differed significantly between subjects with BMI > 25 kg/m2 and BMI < 25 kg/m2, n = 17 each (PFV 219.0 ± 151.8 vs. 96.9 ± 44.7 ml and EFV 102.3 ± 66.3 vs. 51.7 ± 23.6 ml, p < 0.001, each). The proposed 3D-Dixon based method allows accurate measurement of cardiac fat volumes. It provides a valuable tool for cardiovascular risk stratification by CMR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany

    Rami Homsi, Michael Meier-Schroers, Jürgen Gieseke, Darius Dabir, Julian A. Luetkens, Daniel L. Kuetting, Claas P. Naehle, Christian Marx, Hans H. Schild, Daniel K. Thomas & Alois M. Sprinkart

  2. Philips Healthcare Germany, Lübeckertordamm, Hamburg, Germany

    Jürgen Gieseke & Claas P. Naehle

  3. Institute of Medical Engineering, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstraße, Bochum, Germany

    Claas P. Naehle & Alois M. Sprinkart

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  1. Rami Homsi
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Correspondence to Alois M. Sprinkart.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Homsi, R., Meier-Schroers, M., Gieseke, J. et al. 3D-Dixon MRI based volumetry of peri- and epicardial fat. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 32, 291–299 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-015-0778-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-015-0778-8

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