Rationale and design of RESILIENCE: A prospective randomized clinical trial evaluating remote ischaemic conditioning for the prevention of anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

Aims: There is a lack of therapies able to prevent anthracycline cardiotoxicity (AC). Remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) has shown beneficial effects in preclinical models of AC.

Methods: REmote iSchemic condItioning in Lymphoma PatIents REceiving ANthraCyclinEs (RESILIENCE) is a multinational, prospective, phase II, double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial that evaluates the efficacy and safety of RIC in lymphoma patients receiving anthracyclines.

Electrophysiological cardiovascular MR: procedure-ready mesh model generation for interventional guidance based on non-selective excitation compressed sensing whole heart imaging.

Fully CMR-guided electrophysiological interventions (EP-CMR) have recently been introduced but data on the optimal CMR imaging protocol are scarce. This study determined the clinical utility of 3D non-selective whole heart steady-state free precession imaging using compressed SENSE (nsWHcs) for automatic segmentation of cardiac cavities as the basis for targeted catheter navigation during EP-CMR cavo-tricuspid isthmus ablation. Fourty-two consecutive patients with isthmus-dependent right atrial flutter underwent EP-CMR radiofrequency ablations.

Silent active device tracking for MR-guided interventional procedures.

Purpose: To evaluate a silent MR active catheter tracking sequence that allows conducting catheter interventions with low acoustic noise levels.

Methods: To reduce the acoustic noise associated with MR catheter tracking, we implemented a technique previously used in conventional MRI. The gradient waveforms are modified to reduce the sound pressure level (SPL) and avoid acoustic resonances of the MRI system.

Free-breathing 2D radial cine MRI with respiratory auto-calibrated motion correction (RAMCO).

Purpose: To develop a free-breathing (FB) 2D radial balanced steady-state free precession cine cardiac MRI method with 100% respiratory gating efficiency using respiratory auto-calibrated motion correction (RAMCO) based on a motion-sensing camera.

Methods: The signal from a respiratory motion-sensing camera was recorded during a FB retrospectively electrocardiogram triggered 2D radial balanced steady-state free precession acquisition using pseudo-tiny-golden-angle ordering. With RAMCO, for each acquisition the respiratory signal was retrospectively auto-calibrated by applying different linear translations, using the resulting in-plane image sharpness as a criterium.

High-Resolution Free-Breathing Quantitative First-Pass Perfusion Cardiac MR Using Dual-Echo Dixon With Spatio-Temporal Acceleration.

Introduction: To develop and test the feasibility of free-breathing (FB), high-resolution quantitative first-pass perfusion cardiac MR (FPP-CMR) using dual-echo Dixon (FOSTERS; Fat-water separation for mOtion-corrected Spatio-TEmporally accelerated myocardial peRfuSion).

Materials And Methods: FOSTERS was performed in FB using a dual-saturation single-bolus acquisition with dual-echo Dixon and a dynamically variable Cartesian k-t undersampling (8-fold) approach, with low-rank and sparsity constrained reconstruction, to achieve high-resolution FPP-CMR images. FOSTERS also included automatic in-plane motion estimation and T correction to obtain quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) maps.

Transforming a pre-existing MRI environment into an interventional cardiac MRI suite.

Aims: To illustrate the practical and technical challenges along with the safety aspects when performing MRI-guided electrophysiological procedures in a pre-existing diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment.

Methods And Results: A dedicated, well-trained multidisciplinary interventional cardiac MRI team (iCMR team), consisting of electrophysiologists, imaging cardiologists, radiologists, anaesthesiologists, MRI physicists, electrophysiological (EP) and MRI technicians, biomedical engineers, and medical instrumentation technologists is a prerequisite for a safe and feasible implementation of CMR-guided electrophysiological procedures (iCMR) in a pre-existing MRI environment. A formal dry run "mock-up" to address the entire spectrum of technical, logistic, and safety issues was performed before obtaining final approval of the Board of Directors.

Retrospective Camera-Based Respiratory Gating in Clinical Whole-Heart 4D Flow MRI.

Background: Respiratory gating is generally recommended in 4D flow MRI of the heart to avoid blurring and motion artifacts. Recently, a novel automated contact-less camera-based respiratory motion sensor has been introduced.

Purpose: To compare camera-based respiratory gating (CAM) with liver-lung-navigator-based gating (NAV) and no gating (NO) for whole-heart 4D flow MRI.

Steadily Increasing Inversion Time Improves Blood Suppression for Free-Breathing 3D Late Gadolinium Enhancement MRI With Optimized Dark-Blood Contrast.

Materials And Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with previous cardiac arrhythmias, scheduled for high-resolution 3D LGE MRI, were prospectively enrolled between October 2017 and February 2020. Free-breathing 3D dark-blood LGE MRI with high isotropic resolution (1.6 × 1.

Variable anisotropic FOV for 3D radial imaging with spiral phyllotaxis (VASP).

Purpose: To develop a new 3D radial trajectory based on the natural spiral phyllotaxis (SP), with variable anisotropic FOV.

Theory & Methods: A 3D radial trajectory based on the SP with favorable interleaving properties for cardiac imaging has been proposed by Piccini et al (Magn Reson Med. 2011;66:1049-1056), which supports a FOV with a fixed anisotropy.

Clinical workflow and applicability of electrophysiological cardiovascular magnetic resonance-guided radiofrequency ablation of isthmus-dependent atrial flutter.

Aims: To determine safety and efficacy of electrophysiological cardiovascular magnetic resonance (EP-CMR)-guided radiofrequency (RF) ablation in patients with typical right atrial flutter in a routine clinical setting.

Methods And Results: Thirty patients with typical right atrial flutter underwent clinically indicated EP-CMR-guided cavotricuspid isthmus ablation. EP-CMR protocols included pre- and post-ablation CMR imaging (whole heart, T2-weighted, and early-/late-gadolinium enhancement) together with electroanatomic mapping of the right atrium.

Simultaneous acquisition sequence for improved hepatic pharmacokinetics quantification accuracy (SAHA) for dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of liver.

Purpose: To propose a simultaneous acquisition sequence for improved hepatic pharmacokinetics quantification accuracy (SAHA) method for liver dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI.

Methods: The proposed SAHA simultaneously acquired high temporal-resolution 2D images for vascular input function extraction using Cartesian sampling and 3D large-coverage high spatial-resolution liver dynamic contrast-enhanced images using golden angle stack-of-stars acquisition in an interleaved way. Simulations were conducted to investigate the accuracy of SAHA in pharmacokinetic analysis.

Simultaneous measurement of brain perfusion and labeling efficiency in a single pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling scan.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to propose, optimize, and validate a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) sequence for simultaneous measurement of brain perfusion and labeling efficiency.

Methods: The proposed sequence incorporates the labeling efficiency measurement into the postlabeling delay period of a conventional perfusion pCASL sequence by using the time-encoding approach. In vivo validation experiments were performed on nine young subjects by comparing it to separate perfusion and labeling efficiency sequences.

Coronary MR angiography using image-based respiratory motion compensation with inline correction and fixed gating efficiency.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new inline motion compensation approach called image-based navigation with Constant Respiratory efficiency UsIng Single End-expiratory threshold (iNAV-CRUISE) for coronary MR angiography (CMRA).

Methods: The CRUISE gating technique was combined with iNAV motion correction and implemented inline for motion-compensated CMRA on a 1.5 Tesla scanner.

Whole-heart coronary MR angiography using image-based navigation for the detection of coronary anomalies in adult patients with congenital heart disease.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a recently developed two-dimensional (2D) image-based navigation approach (iNAVG+C ) combined with respiratory bellows gating for CMRA in patients with congenital heart disease.

Methods: Nine healthy volunteers (mean age 32 ± 6 years [standard deviation]) and 29 patients (28 ± 9 years) were scanned on a 1.5 Tesla clinical scanner using iNAV(G+C) motion compensated T2prepared CMRA, and the conventional 1D NAV approach.

Geometrically undistorted MRI in the presence of field inhomogeneities using compressed sensing accelerated broadband 3D phase encoded turbo spin-echo imaging.

In this study, we explore the potential of compressed sensing (CS) accelerated broadband 3D phase-encoded turbo spin-echo (3D-PE-TSE) for the purpose of geometrically undistorted imaging in the presence of field inhomogeneities. To achieve this goal 3D-PE-SE and 3D-PE-TSE sequences with broadband rf pulses and dedicated undersampling patterns were implemented on a clinical scanner. Additionally, a 3D multi-spectral spin-echo (ms3D-SE) sequence was implemented for reference purposes.

A new framework for interleaved scanning in cardiovascular MR: Application to image-based respiratory motion correction in coronary MR angiography.

Purpose: To describe a new framework for interleaving scans and demonstrate its usefulness for image-based respiratory motion correction in whole heart coronary MR angiography (CMRA).

Methods: Scan interleaving using the proposed approach was achieved by switching between separately defined, independent scans at arbitrary time points during their execution, using a generic function call. The scan interleaving framework was used to perform scan interleaving for image-based respiratory navigation of CMRA with spiral, radial, and Cartesian echo-planar imaging (EPI) navigator k-space trajectories.

Prospective respiratory motion correction for coronary MR angiography using a 2D image navigator.

Respiratory motion remains the major impediment in a substantial amount of patients undergoing coronary magnetic resonance angiography. Motion correction in coronary magnetic resonance angiography is typically performed with a diaphragmatic 1D navigator (1Dnav) assuming a constant linear relationship between diaphragmatic and cardiac respiratory motion. In this work, a novel 2D navigator (2Dnav) is proposed, which prospectively corrects for translational motion in foot-head and left-right direction.

Prospective high-resolution respiratory-resolved whole-heart MRI for image-guided cardiovascular interventions.

Cardiovascular diseases, including arrhythmias and heart failure, are commonly treated with percutaneous procedures guided by X-ray fluoroscopy. The visualization of the targeted structures can be enhanced using preacquired respiratory-resolved anatomic data (dynamic roadmap), which is displayed as an overlay onto X-ray fluoroscopy images. This article demonstrates how dynamic roadmaps using an affine motion model can be obtained from one respiratory-resolved three-dimensional whole-heart acquisition using the previously introduced Radial Phase Encoding-Phase Ordering with Automatic Window Selection method.

Highly efficient whole-heart imaging using radial phase encoding-phase ordering with automatic window selection.

Three dimensional (3D) whole-heart magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an important imaging modality to assess cardiovascular diseases. The main challenges for 3D whole-heart MRI are long acquisition times, required to achieve high spatial resolution, and image artefacts due to physiological motion. Here we propose to overcome these problems by the combination of an interleaved Radial Phase Encoding trajectory and the Phase Ordering with Automatic Window Selection method.

Respiratory bellows revisited for motion compensation: preliminary experience for cardiovascular MR.

For many cardiac MR applications, respiratory bellows gating is attractive because it is widely available and not disruptive to or dependent on imaging. However, its use is uncommon in cardiac MR, because its accuracy has not been fully studied. Here, in 10 healthy subjects, the bellows and respiratory navigator (NAV) with the displacement of the diaphragm and heart were simultaneously monitored, during single-shot imaging.

Pulmonary vein inflow artifact reduction for free-breathing left atrium late gadolinium enhancement.

Two-dimensional "pencil-beam" navigator, placed on the right hemidiaphragm, is used for free-breathing late gadolinium enhancement of the left atrium in patients with atrial fibrillation. The pencil-beam navigator creates an inflow artifact in the right pulmonary veins and atrial wall that may obscure local pulmonary vein and left atrium scars. To reduce this artifact, we propose a large slab right hemidiaphragm projection navigator that measures the respiratory motion while reducing the associated inflow artifact.

Contrast-enhanced whole-heart coronary MRI with bolus infusion of gadobenate dimeglumine at 1.5 T.

We sought to investigate the T(1) kinetics of blood and myocardium after three infusion schemes of gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA) and subsequently compared contrast-enhanced whole-heart coronary MRI after a bolus Gd-BOPTA infusion with nonenhanced coronary MRI at 1.5 T. Blood and myocardium T(1) was measured in seven healthy adults, after each underwent three Gd-BOPTA infusion schemes (bolus: 0.