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Schreiber LM, Lohr D, Baltes S, Vogel U, Elabyad IA, Bille M, Reiter T, Kosmala A, Gassenmaier T, Stefanescu MR, Kollmann A, Aures J, Schnitter F, Pali M, Ueda Y, Williams T, Christa M, Hofmann U, Bauer W, Gerull B, Zernecke A, Ergün S, Terekhov M. Ultra-high field cardiac MRI in large animals and humans for translational cardiovascular research. Front Cardiovasc Med 2023; 10:1068390. [PMID: 37255709 PMCID: PMC10225557 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1068390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A key step in translational cardiovascular research is the use of large animal models to better understand normal and abnormal physiology, to test drugs or interventions, or to perform studies which would be considered unethical in human subjects. Ultrahigh field magnetic resonance imaging (UHF-MRI) at 7 T field strength is becoming increasingly available for imaging of the heart and, when compared to clinically established field strengths, promises better image quality and image information content, more precise functional analysis, potentially new image contrasts, and as all in-vivo imaging techniques, a reduction of the number of animals per study because of the possibility to scan every animal repeatedly. We present here a solution to the dual use problem of whole-body UHF-MRI systems, which are typically installed in clinical environments, to both UHF-MRI in large animals and humans. Moreover, we provide evidence that in such a research infrastructure UHF-MRI, and ideally combined with a standard small-bore UHF-MRI system, can contribute to a variety of spatial scales in translational cardiovascular research: from cardiac organoids, Zebra fish and rodent hearts to large animal models such as pigs and humans. We present pilot data from serial CINE, late gadolinium enhancement, and susceptibility weighted UHF-MRI in a myocardial infarction model over eight weeks. In 14 pigs which were delivered from a breeding facility in a national SARS-CoV-2 hotspot, we found no infection in the incoming pigs. Human scanning using CINE and phase contrast flow measurements provided good image quality of the left and right ventricle. Agreement of functional analysis between CINE and phase contrast MRI was excellent. MRI in arrested hearts or excised vascular tissue for MRI-based histologic imaging, structural imaging of myofiber and vascular smooth muscle cell architecture using high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging, and UHF-MRI for monitoring free radicals as a surrogate for MRI of reactive oxygen species in studies of oxidative stress are demonstrated. We conclude that UHF-MRI has the potential to become an important precision imaging modality in translational cardiovascular research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Schreiber
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - David Lohr
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Steffen Baltes
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Vogel
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Ibrahim A. Elabyad
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Maya Bille
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Theresa Reiter
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
- Department of Internal Medicine I/Cardiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Aleksander Kosmala
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Gassenmaier
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Maria R. Stefanescu
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Alena Kollmann
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Julia Aures
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Florian Schnitter
- Department of Internal Medicine I/Cardiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Mihaela Pali
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Yuichiro Ueda
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Julius-Maximilians-University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Tatiana Williams
- Department of Cardiovascular Genetics, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Martin Christa
- Department of Internal Medicine I/Cardiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Hofmann
- Department of Internal Medicine I/Cardiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Bauer
- Department of Internal Medicine I/Cardiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Brenda Gerull
- Department of Internal Medicine I/Cardiology, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
- Department of Cardiovascular Genetics, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Alma Zernecke
- Institute of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Süleyman Ergün
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Julius-Maximilians-University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Maxim Terekhov
- Department of Cardiovascular Imaging and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Wuerzburg (CHFC), University Hospital Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
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Stephan S, Reiss S, Lottner T, Özen AC, Bock M. Catheter-based Arterial Input Function Determination for Myocardial Perfusion Measurements. Z Med Phys 2020; 31:65-72. [PMID: 32873440 DOI: 10.1016/j.zemedi.2020.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The quantification of myocardial perfusion with contrast agent (CA) tracers requires the precise knowledge of the arterial input function (AIF). In this study a method for MR-guided vascular interventions is evaluated that determines the AIF via an active tracking catheter during targeted CA injection. A phantom experiment with a dialysis filter was conducted to measure the AIF using an active catheter and a dynamic image series as reference. To compensate for dilution and coil sensitivity effects, correction methods were developed for the catheter-based AIF determination. From the dynamic MR measurements in the perfusion phantom quantitative perfusion maps were calculated by a deconvolution of the measured CA concentration with the AIF, and additional flow measurements were used to normalize the perfusion map. The signal-time-curves of the measured AIF using the catheter-based and imaging-based methods agree while the absolute values differ by a scaling factor of about 9. After normalization to the surrounding flow, both perfusion techniques are in excellent agreement. Catheter-based AIF measurements are feasible but require an additional normalization which can be determined from a flow measurement. The technique might enable faster perfusion measurements during cardiovascular interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Stephan
- Department of Radiology - Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Reiss
- Department of Radiology - Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Lottner
- Department of Radiology - Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ali Caglar Özen
- Department of Radiology - Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Michael Bock
- Department of Radiology - Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
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