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Automated Identification of Minimal Myocardial Motion for Improved Image Quality on MR Angiography at 3 T

¹ Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University Medical School, JHOC 4223, 601 N Caroline St., Baltimore, MD 21287. Address correspondence to M. Stuber.
² Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
³ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH.
⁴ Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, OH.
⁵ Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, MD.

OBJECTIVE. Imaging during a period of minimal myocardial motion is of paramount importance for coronary MR angiography (MRA). The objective of our study was to evaluate the utility of FREEZE, a custom-built automated tool for the identification of the period of minimal myocardial motion, in both a moving phantom at 1.5 T and 10 healthy adults (nine men, one woman; mean age, 24.9 years; age range, 21-32 years) at 3 T.

CONCLUSION. Quantitative analysis of the moving phantom showed that dimension measurements approached those obtained in the static phantom when using FREEZE. In vitro, vessel sharpness, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were significantly improved when coronary MRA was performed during the software-prescribed period of minimal myocardial motion (p < 0.05). Consistent with these objective findings, image quality assessments by consensus review also improved significantly when using the automated prescription of the period of minimal myocardial motion. The use of FREEZE improves image quality of coronary MRA. Simultaneously, operator dependence can be minimized while the ease of use is improved.

Keywords: cardiac imaging • heart • MR angiography • MRI • MR technique

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