Breath-hold cardiac-gated black-blood fast MR imaging of the heart

In order to evaluate the value of new cardiac MR imaging techniques that overcome problems with blood flow, cardiac motion and respiratory motion, 13 healthy volunteers were studied using a 1.5 T superconductive magnet device (Siemens Magnetom Vision) using rapid imaging sequences with blood signal suppression. We implemented breath-hold cardiac-triggered HASTE, TSE and fast-STIR sequences with preparatory radio frequency pulses to eliminate signals from the flowing blood and compared the images obtained thereby with images obtained with a T2-weighted turbo spin echo technique. Based on visual and quantitative evaluation, breath-hold black-blood HASTE, TSE and STIR imaging were free of cardiac and respiratory motion artifacts and blood signals, and provided excellent image quality and visualization of cardiac structures. Blood in the heart chambers was uniformly nullified and motion artifacts were effectively suppressed. The image quality for black-blood breath-hold cardiac triggered T2-weighted TSE, STIR and HASTE was significantly better than that for conventional turbo-spin echo sequences. Further clinical evaluation of these techniques is necessary to define their role in cardiac imaging. (author)