Better MRI scans for children with congenital heart disease

Around 1 in 150 babies are diagnosed with a congenital heart disease, which means a heart condition developed in the womb before birth.

When the BHF was founded in 1961, the majority of children born with severe congenital heart disease did not make it to their first birthday but today 8 out of 10 children survive to adulthood. Many aspects of research have contributed to this improvement including the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Using MRI scans for children with congenital heart disease

Pioneering research by BHF Professor Bob Anderson in the 1970s means that we know a lot today about the anatomy of the heart. But no two hearts are exactly the same especially for people with congenital heart disease, an umbrella term used for a broad range of heart problems people are born with. Even for the same condition, patients will have unique features. The development of state-of the art imaging techniques, many supported by the BHF, has meant that people born with congenital heart disease can benefit from precise and individual assessment of their heart structure and function as part of their regular care.

BHF-funded Professor Edward Baker and colleagues at King’s College London, from the early 1990s, were among the first to demonstrate the value of cardiac MRI for children with congenital heart disease. It doesn’t use x-rays or radioactive substances so there is no radiation burden which is especially valuable for children.

Faster, easier MRI

But one of the main challenges with using cardiac MRI was how long it takes for the image to be created. To produce the best quality image, the chest has to be still. So the person being scanned has to hold their breath which children often found difficult.

Studies carried out in BHF-funded research centres have reduced the time it takes to take each image from several minutes 20 years ago, to a few seconds today.

In 2018, we funded work led by Professor Vivek Muthurangu at University College London who is developing an even faster ‘real-time’ imaging technique, which doesn’t require breath-holding. Real-time imaging avoids the need to sedate or anaesthetise babies and young children.

3D printed hearts to personalise treatment

No two heart defects are exactly the same. So what’s successful in treating one person may not work as well for another.

BHF-funded researchers are studying how 3D printed hearts could help personalise treatment. In 2007, BHF-funded Professor Andrew Taylor and his team at University College London were among the first in the UK to use 3D imaging and computer models to help doctors get a better understanding of an individual's heart.

For example, MRI scans have been used to produce a 3D virtual or printed model of an individual patient’s heart. These can be a valuable tool to help surgeons and cardiologists prepare for surgery and other procedures in children and adults born with congenital heart disease. They can also help the patients and their families get a better understanding of their heart condition.

Bringing MRI to more children with heart defects

Today, if you go to any congenital heart disease centre in the UK you will find cardiovascular MRI facilities. BHF funding has been pivotal to make this happen and to train generations of MRI imaging specialists in congenital heart disease imaging. The people we’ve helped train now run most of the large expert MRI centres that deal with congenital heart disease and continue to use their expertise to improve patient care.

First published 1 June 2021