Abstract (Expand)
PURPOSE: To determine whether systematic differences were present between myocardial R2* values obtained with two different decay models: truncation and exponential + constant (Exp-C). METHODS: … Single-center cohorts were used to compare black and bright blood sequences separately, and a multicenter cohort of mixed bright and black blood studies was used to assess the generalizability. Truncated exponential estimates were calculated with CMRtools, which uses a single region of interest (ROI) method. Exp-C estimates were calculated using a pixelwise approach. RESULTS: No differences could be distinguished based upon whether a white or black blood sequence was examined. The two fitting algorithms yielded similar R2* values, with R-squared values exceeding 0.997 and a coefficient of variation of 3% to 4%. Results using the pixelwise method yielded a small systematic bias ( approximately 3%) that became apparent in patients with severe iron deposition. This disparity disappeared when Exp-C fitting was used on a single ROI, suggesting that the use of pixelwise mapping was responsible for the bias. In the multicenter cohort, the strong agreement between the two fitting approaches was reconfirmed. CONCLUSION: Cardiac R2* values are independent of the signal model used for its calculation over clinically relevant ranges. Clinicians can compare results among centers using these disparate approaches with confidence.
Authors: A. Meloni, H. Y. Jr Rienhoff, A. Jones, A. Pepe, M. Lombardi, J. C. Wood
Date Published: 15th Oct 2013
Publication Type: Not specified
PubMed ID: 24123261
Citation: Magn Reson Med. 2014 Aug;72(2):485-91. doi: 10.1002/mrm.24942. Epub 2013 Oct 1.