Double-oblique cine cardiac MR imaging

A study has been performed analyzing the contrast between the blood pool and myocardium on double oblique long- and short-axis cine MR images using gradient echo fast imaging with steady precession and fast low-angle shot sequences. Inflow of unsaturated spins dominates the contrast behavior of short-axis images. With long-axis imaging, suboptimal contrast is seen in peak systole and early diastole due to partial saturation of spins in the imaging section and anatomic considerations at small ventricular volumes. The effects of echo time, flip angle, motion compensation, and spatial presaturation on the contrast between the blood pool and myocardium have been discussed