Diagnosing ARVC in Pediatric Patients Applying the Revised Task Force Criteria: Importance of Imaging, 12-Lead ECG, and Genetics.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a potentially lethal disease that is well described in adults. In pediatric patients, however, identification of patients at risk of adverse events of ARVC remains a challenge. We aimed to determine which criteria of the revised Task Force Criteria (rTFC), alone or combined, have an impact on diagnosis of ARVC when compared to disease-specific genetic mutations in pediatric patients ≤ 18 years.

Atrio-ventricular deformation and heart failure in Ebstein's Anomaly - A cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

Purpose: We aimed to quantify atrial and ventricular myocardial deformation in Ebstein's Anomaly (EA) in a case-control study with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) feature tracking and to correlate changes in cardiac performance with the severity of disease and clinical heart failure parameters.

Materials And Methods: Atrial and ventricular deformation was measured using CMR feature tracking in 30 EA and 20 healthy control subjects. Atrial performance was characterized using longitudinal strain and strain rate parameters for reservoir function, conduit function and booster pump function.

Quantification of left atrial volume and phasic function using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging-comparison of biplane area-length method and Simpson's method.

Left atrial (LA) enlargement and dysfunction are markers of chronic diastolic dysfunction and an important predictor of adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes. Accordingly, accurate quantification of left atrial volume (LAV) and function is needed. In routine clinical cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging the biplane area-length method (Bi-ALM) is frequently applied due to time-saving image acquisition and analysis.

Targeted endomyocardial biopsy guided by real-time cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: Endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) are an important diagnostic tool for myocarditis and other infiltrative cardiac diseases. Routinely, biopsies are obtained under fluoroscopic guidance with a substantial radiation burden. Despite procedural success, there is a large sampling error caused by missing the affected myocardium.

Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Quantitative Lung Perfusion Imaging Using the Dual-Bolus Approach: Comparison of 3 Contrast Agents and Recommendation of Feasible Doses.

Objective: The aims of this study were to compare 3 contrast agents and to define feasible doses for quantitative lung perfusion imaging using the dual-bolus approach in dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: Ten healthy volunteers (6 males, 4 females; mean age, 23.5 years) underwent DCE-MRI at 1.

Biphasic ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC-PET/CT in patients with recurrent and high-risk prostate carcinoma.

Purpose: Binding of (68)Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC ((68)Ga-PSMA) at prostate cancer (PC) cells increases over time. A biphasic protocol may help separating benign from tumor lesions. The aim of this study was the retrospective evaluation of a diagnostic incremental value of a dual-time point (biphasic) (68)Ga-PSMA-PET/CT in patients with prostate cancer.

A model-based reconstruction technique for quantitative myocardial perfusion imaging.

Purpose: To reduce saturation effects in the arterial input function (AIF) estimation of quantitative myocardial first-pass saturation recovery perfusion imaging by employing a model-based reconstruction.

Theory And Methods: Imaging was performed with a saturation recovery prepared radial FLASH sequence. A model-based reconstruction was applied for reconstruction.

The cardiomyopathy in Friedreich's ataxia - New biomarker for staging cardiac involvement.

Background: Patients with autosomal-recessively inherited Friedreich's ataxia (FA) may develop a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (CM), which potentially progresses towards a life-limiting problem. The typical features of this CM and the sequence of progression are widely unknown.

Methods: Thirty-two consecutive patients with genetically confirmed FA were included.

High resolution myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging with extended anatomic coverage.

Purpose: To evaluate and to compare Parallel Imaging and Compressed Sensing acquisition and reconstruction frameworks based on simultaneous multislice excitation for high resolution contrast-enhanced myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging with extended anatomic coverage.

Materials And Methods: The simultaneous multislice imaging technique MS-CAIPIRINHA facilitates imaging with significantly extended anatomic coverage. For additional resolution improvement, equidistant or random undersampling schemes, associated with corresponding reconstruction frameworks, namely Parallel Imaging and Compressed Sensing can be used.

Density weighted turbo spin echo imaging.

Purpose: To optimize the spatial response function (SRF) while maintaining optimal signal to noise ratio (SNR) in T2 weighted turbo spin echo (TSE) imaging by prospective density weighting.

Materials And Methods: Density weighting optimizes the SRF by sampling the k-space with variable density without the need of retrospective filtering, which would typically result in nonoptimal SNR. For TSE, the T2 decay needs to be considered when calculating an optimized sampling pattern.

CAIPIRINHA accelerated SSFP imaging.

Exciting multiple slices at the same time, "controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration" (CAIPIRINHA) and "phase-offset multiplanar" have shown to be very effective techniques in 2D multislice imaging. Being provided with individual rf phase cycles, the simultaneously excited slices are shifted with respect to each other in the FOV and, thus, can be easily separated. For SSFP sequences, however, similar rf phase cycles are required to maintain the steady state, impeding a straightforward application of phase-offset multiplanar or controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration.

Iatrogenic perforation of the left heart during placement of a chest drain.

Chest drain placement is a standard procedure for treating pneumothorax and pleural effusions and has a low complication rate. It is a safe and efficient procedure if image guidance is used. If the anatomic orientation is hampered and neither air nor fluids can be initially aspirated, more complex imaging than a chest x-ray is indicated to avoid major complications.

Automatic postprocessing for the assessment of quantitative human myocardial perfusion using MRI.

Objective: Quantitative determination of myocardial perfusion currently involves time-consuming postprocessing. This retrospective study presents automatic postprocessing consisting of image registration and image segmentation to obtain regional signal intensity time courses and quantitative perfusion values.

Methods: The automatic postprocessing was tested in 75 examinations in volunteers and patients, 57 at rest and 18 under adenosine-induced stress, and compared with a manual evaluation.