[Analysis of Myocardial T1 Value for Japanese Healthy Subjects with Non-contrast Myocardium T1 Mapping]

Evaluation of the homogeneity of native T1 myocardial mapping using the polarity corrected inversion time preparation method in a myocardial phantom and healthy volunteers

Myocardial T1 mapping is a useful technique for the diagnosis of diffuse fibrosis. Although modified look-locker inversion recovery is a widely used T1 mapping method, variation in T1 values has been reported. Non-uniform T1 maps may hinder differentiation between healthy and diseased myocardial tissue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the uniformity of T1 mapping using polarity corrected inversion time preparation (PC TI prep) in a myocardial phantom and healthy volunteers. The myocardial phantom was scanned between polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and air. T1 values were measured using inversion recovery fast spin-echo (IR-FSE) and PC TI prep in areas adjacent to PVA and air. For the volunteer study, the short-axis plane was imaged using the PC TI prep to compare T1 values in the myocardium of the septal and lateral walls. The T1 value of the phantom using the IR-FSE was not significantly different in the area between PVA and air, whereas the T1 value using the PC TI prep in the air area was significantly lower than that in the PVA area. T1 mapping of the healthy myocardium exhibited no significant difference between the septal and lateral walls. The T1 value using the PC TI prep in the air area was 6.3% lower than that using IR-FSE. In this study, T1 mapping using the PC TI prep exhibited high uniformity of T1 values.