Sodium MR Heart Scan

German and Irish investigators have finalized the first sodium MR images of the heart at 7 tesla MRI scanner to provide high-resolution images at customary scan times. The 7-tesla acquisitions, aided by the use of a personalized radiofrequency coil structure and cardiac gating, accomplished isotropic resolution of 6 mm. This expertise allows sodium imaging of the human heart with an extraordinary spatial resolution within clinically acceptable scan time. This attainment provides reinforcement for hasty conversion into clinical applications. This accomplishment safeguards clear demarcation of the myocardium, including well-hidden areas of the heart.

The investigations in fit individuals exposed that the use of a density-adapted 3D radial procurement practice used here affords a Signal to noise ratio benefit of approximately 80% compared to the used 3D GRE modus operandi. As for restrictions in this viability investigation, split-up of intracellular and extracellular sodium partition is an earnest objective for forthcoming exploration due to their functional significance.

As their imaging procedure, the researchers employed free-breathing 3D Cartesian gradient echo (GRE) and cardiac– gated 3dimensional density-adapted radial achievement methods on a 7-tesla total-body scanner.

To become acquainted with the signal acquisition necessities for the protocol, they created a four-element transceiver radiofrequency surface coil modified for sodium MRI at 7 tesla, also mimicking signal absorption rates and achieving radiofrequency power deposition valuations to meet radiofrequency protection necessities. 

The dual radio frequency coil combined discrete components for sodium and hydrogen (H-1) MR signals, each enclosing two rectangular coil components that share a common conductor. Each coil component was alienated by chip capacitors into five components to form a well-adjusted and constant current delivery along the coil.The cardiac-gated reforms generated a 20% upgrading in blood-myocardium disparity matched with the same statistics without gating.