NU 2015-112
Inventors
Jason Ng*
Timothy J. Carroll
Daniel C. Lee
Paras S. Parikh
Short Description
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) calibration method to detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis earlier and more accurately.
Abstract
Northwestern researchers have developed an MRI calibration method to detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis using MRI T1 mapping, the most common cardiac MRI technique. Myocardial fibrosis is a major indication for a variety of cardiac diseases including ischemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure. However, using myocardial fibrosis to clinically diagnose cardiac disease in an effective and efficient manner is a challenge due to limited techniques. These techniques include biopsy, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging, partition coefficient and extracellular volume (ECV) mapping, and Standard T1 mapping with Modified Look-Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI). Each of these techniques has its own disadvantages. Biopsy is invasive and prone to sampling error. LGE imaging is unable to detect diffuse myocardial fibrosis. In ECV mapping, signals from diseased and normal myocardium sometimes overlap. Lastly, Standard T1 mapping with MOLLI has suboptimal 3D-resolution and coverage. Thus, an accurate detection method for myocardial fibrosis is needed and can enable an earlier diagnosis of cardiac diseases. Northwestern researchers have developed a novel MRI calibration method which can produce high resolution quantitative 3D-T1 maps of the whole heart, providing informative data that characterizes the level of fibrosis and scarring of the heart. The invention enables earlier and more decisive diagnosis of cardiac diseases by including diffuse myocardial fibrosis as a clinical index. The method also has further potential beyond myocardial fibrosis in guiding therapeutic intervention.
Applications
Advantages
Publications
Parikh P, Ng J, Markl M, Carroll T, Goldberger J, Benefield B, Ng J and Lee D (2016) A novel calibration technique to obtain high resolution 3D T1 Maps for Infarct characterization. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. 18 (1): 101.
IP Status
PCT application has been filed.