MRI Calibration Method

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Track Code: 2015-112 Short Description     An magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) calibration method to detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis earlier and more accurately.  #diagnosis #biomedical #medicaldevice #imaging #cardiology #researchtool #method Abstract         Northwestern researchers have developed an MRI calibration method to detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis using MRI T1 mapping, the most common cardiac MRI technique.  Myocardial fibrosis is a major indication for a variety of cardiac diseases including ischemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure.  However, using myocardial fibrosis to clinically diagnose cardiac disease in an effective and efficient manner is a challenge due to limited techniques.  These techniques include biopsy, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging, partition coefficient and extracellular volume (ECV) mapping, and Standard T1 mapping with Modified Look-Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI).  Each of these techniques has its own disadvantages.  Biopsy is invasive and prone to sampling error. LGE imaging is unable to detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis. In ECV mapping, signals from diseased and normal myocardium sometimes overlap. Lastly, Standard T1 mapping with MOLLI has suboptimal 3D-resolution and coverage.  Thus, an accurate detection method for myocardial fibrosis is needed and can enable an earlier diagnosis of cardiac diseases.  Northwestern researchers have developed a novel MRI calibration method which can produce high resolution quantitative 3D-T1 maps of the whole heart, providing informative data that characterizes the level of fibrosis and scarring of the heart. The invention enables earlier and more decisive diagnosis of cardiac diseases by including diffuse myocardial fibrosis as a clinical index.  The method also has further potential beyond myocardial fibrosis in guiding therapeutic intervention. Tags   HEALTHCARE: MRI, MEDICAL DEVICE: imaging, diagnosis, biomedical, cardiology, research tool Posted Date    Oct 26, 2016 12:25 PM Applications Diagnosis and therapeutic intervention tool for early detection of signs of: Ischemic heart diseases Cardiac amyloidosis Atrial fibrillation Scar-related ventricular arrhythmias Cardiomyopathy Myocarditis Aortic stenosis Research tool for cardiac disease studies   Advantages Increased accuracy of diffuse myocardial fibrosis Ability to differentiate between levels of scar tissue using current pulse sequences Full heart imaging compared to standard T1 mapping with MOLLI Compatibility with current equipment Significantly higher resolution (4 - 8 times that of T1 mapping with MOLLI) Publications Parikh P, Ng J, Markl M, Carroll T, Goldberger JJ, Benefield BC, Ng J and Lee DC (2016) A novel calibration technique to obtain high resolution 3D T1 Maps for Infarct characterization. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. 18 (1): 101. IP Status Provisional application was filed.