Analysis of Endocardial Border Sharpness of Accelerated 2D CINE SSFP: Implications for Left Ventricular Function Assessment

¹Division of Experimental MR Imaging, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen, Germany; ²Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Saarland, Homburg/Saar, Germany; ³Medical Clinic I, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen, Germany; ⁴Faculty of Mathematics, Computerscience and Natural Science, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

Accelerated 2D CINE SSFP affords scan time reduction in LV function assessment though image blurring remains a concern. A method for endocardial border sharpness (EBS) analysis is introduced and applied to conventional, SENSE and k-t BLAST accelerated 2D CINE SSFP. A fairly rapid EBS degeneration was observed for k-t accelerations of R≥8. Consequently, the imaging speed advantage of k-t BLAST over conventional 2D CINE SSFP should be balanced against EBS deterioration. An acceleration of R<8 is advised for LV function assessment, which still provides sufficient acceleration to accomplish 3-4 slices per breath-hold without adverse effects on image quality.