Work

“Two‐For‐One”: 4D Cardiac and Pulmonary MR Imaging From a Single Acquisition Using bSTAR

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: PURPOSE: To generate 4D (3D+time) images of both the heart and lungs using a single volumetric radial free-breathing bSSFP dual echo acquisition (bSTAR) with two image reconstructions within a single pipeline deployed inline at 0.55 and 1.5 T. METHODS: 10 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with cardiomyopathy, lung diseases, or pulmonary hypertension were imaged at 0.55 T. Left-ventricular volumetry was compared to 2D cine images for the cardiac images. Image quality score was measured by two expert readers for cardiac and pulmonary bSTAR images. RESULTS: Cardiac and pulmonary images were reconstructed inline in 18 min 28 s and 8 min 39 s respectively. Ejection Fraction measurements showed no significant difference (mean bias -0.39%, p > 0.05) between bSTAR and 2D cines. Experts scored whole heart bSTAR images fair-to-good (image quality score of 3.47 ± 0.58) and whole lung bSTAR images as good (image quality score of 3.94 ± 0.85). CONCLUSION: The ability to assess both cardiac and lung morphology and function in a single scan with parallel image reconstructions will facilitate the evaluation of the cardio-pulmonary interplay. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03331380.

Source: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

DOI: 10.1002/mrm.70504