Massimo Mischi1, Harrie CM van den Bosch2, Jacques A. den Boer, Jan Verwoerd3, Rene JE Grouls2, Hendrikus HM Korsten2
1Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 2Catharina Hospital; 3Philips Healthcare
A minimally-invasive characterization of the trans-thoracic circulation (TTC) by contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is presented and validated in vitro. The clinical feasibility of the method is also tested with five healthy volunteers. A bolus of a paramagnetic agent is intravenously injected and detected by MRI in the right and left ventricles. A parametric deconvolution is designed for the estimation and hemodynamic interpretation of the TTC dilution impulse response. This permits in the assessment of the intra-thoracic blood volume as well as the ratio between contrast convection and dispersion in the TTC. The results are accurate and motivate further investigation.