Developing 3D MRI for a better image of the heart and vessels

Robust three-dimensional whole heart myocardial perfusion MR imaging using highly accelerated data-driven motion corrected parallel imaging

Heart patients commonly need to undergo imaging of their heart and vessels to identify what is wrong or to understand the extent of any damage (for example, after a heart attack). The benefit of MRI compared with some other tests is that it does not expose patients to harmful radiation and it provides highly detailed images of the heart with a body scanner. Professor Sven Plein and colleagues from the University of Leeds and St Thomas’ Hospital in London have been awarded a 2-year grant of nearly £200,000 to build on past pioneering methods they developed of imaging blood supply to the heart. This research involved taking pictures of the arteries going to the heart using an MRI scanner. Although their findings showed that the pictures were accurate and informative in terms of identifying potential blood vessel disease or damage, their quality was hampered because the technique required the patient to hold their breath during parts of the procedure. Now, the research team will test a refined method that should provide more consistent and robust 3D images that are unaffected by the motion of the chest when a patient is breathing. This will be achieved through further improvements of their original methods and rigorous testing in volunteers and patients. Prof Plein and colleagues’ findings could lead to a better way to image the blood supply to the heart using an MRI body scanner.