Abstract
As a first step towards the development of a neonatal cardiac MRI (CMRI) coil, we investigated the utilization, handling and image quality of a knee coil for CMRI in infants at 3 Tesla. Scout imaging and cine imaging with optimized pulse sequence parameters were performed in two neonates and the resulting images were evaluated for diagnostic purposes. All images were of high diagnostic quality. Complete examinations took less than five minutes. The excellent signal-to-noise ratio provided by this coil allowed all cine studies to be acquired with only three averages. In conclusion, a knee coil can be successfully applied in neonates for CMRI, but the coil design could be improved further to facilitate routine clinical use.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pennell DJ, Sechtem UP, Higgins CB et al (2004) Clinical indications for cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR): Consensus Panel report. Eur Heart J 25:1940–1965
Groves AM (2011) Cardiac magnetic resonance in the study of neonatal haemodynamics. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med 16:36–41
Duerden RM, Pointon KS, Habib S (2006) Review of clinical cardiac MRI. Imaging 18:178–186
Gutberlet M, Spors B, Grothoff M et al (2004) Comparison of different cardiac MRI sequences at 1.5/3.0 T with respect to signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios: initial experience. Röfo 176:801–808
Pamboucas C, Nihoyannopoulos P (2006) Cardiovascular magnetic resonance at 3 Tesla: advantages, limitations and clinical potential. Hellenic J Cardiol 47:170–173
Schick F (2005) Whole-body MRI at high field: technical limits and clinical potential. Eur Radiol 15:946–959
Wen H, Denison TJ, Singeman RW et al (1997) The intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio in human cardiac imaging at 1.5, 3 and 4 T. J Magn Reson 125:65–71
Wieben O, Francois C, Reeder SB (2008) Cardiac MRI of ischemic heart disease at 3 T: potential and challenges. Eur J Radiol 65:15–28
Groves AM, Chiesa G, Durighel G et al (2011) Functional cardiac MRI in preterm and term newborns. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 96:86–91
Kawel N, Valsangiacomo-Buechel E, Hoop R et al (2010) Preoperative evaluation of pulmonary artery mophology and pulmonary circulation in neonates with pulmonary atresia—usefulness of MR angiography in clinical routine. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson 12:52–59
Merchant N, Groves A, Larkman DJ et al (2009) A patient care system for early 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of very low birth weight infants. Early Hum Dev 85:779–783
Acknowledgements
We thank Mrs. Traudel Hansen (RN) for expert care and monitoring of the neonates during the CMRI examinations.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
ESM 1
(AVI 21100 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Helle, M., Jerosch-Herold, M., Voges, I. et al. Improved MRI of the neonatal heart: feasibility study using a knee coil. Pediatr Radiol 41, 1429–1432 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-011-2215-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-011-2215-z