Walter RT Witschey1,2, James J. Pilla2,
Giovanni Ferrari2, Keivn Koolmasingh2, Mohammed Haris1,
Robin Hinmon2, Gerald A. Zsido1, Joseph H. Gorman III2,
Robert C. Gorman2, Ravinder Reddy1
1Center for Magnetic Resonance and
Optical Imaging, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA, United States; 2Department of Surgery, University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
T1ρ
MRI was performed to differentiate scar tissue, proximal, borderzone tissue
and healthy myocardium in a swine model of left ventricular myocardial
infarction. The spatially-dependent relaxation times were validated by
histological staining of collagen and myocytes. Significant magnetic
relaxation dispersion with the application of a varying amplitude RF field
was observed. These results suggest that T1ρ is superior to conventional
methods such as T2 for the visualization of early edema and late scarring and
expansion in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.