T1 Mapping MOLLI 5(3)3 Acquisition Scheme Yields High Accuracy in 1.5 T Cardiac Magnetic Resonance

• Published in: Diagnostics (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 11; p. 2729
• Main Authors: Krumm, Patrick, Martirosian, Petros, Brendel, Alexander, Kübler, Jens M., Brendel, Jan M., Gassenmaier, Sebastian, Estler, Arne, Gawaz, Meinrad, Nikolaou, Konstantin, Greulich, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 08.11.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Accuracy; cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; Cardiomyopathy; Cardiovascular disease; MOLLI; Myocarditis; Patients; Reproducibility; Software; Statistical analysis; T1 mapping; Variance analysis; Work stations; accuracy; MOLLI; cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; T1 mapping
• ISSN: 2075-4418; 2075-4418
• DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics12112729

Objectives: To systematically compare two modified Look-Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) T1 mapping sequences and their impact on (1) myocardial T1 values native, (2) post-contrast and (3) extracellular volume (ECV). Methods: 200 patients were prospectively included for 1.5 T CMR for work-up of ischemic or non-ischemic cardiomyopathies. To determine native and post-contrast T1 for ECV calculation, two different T1 mapping MOLLI acquisition schemes, 5(3)3 (designed for native scans with long T1) and 4(1)3(1)2 (designed for post-contrast scans with short T1), were acquired in identical mid-ventricular short-axis slices. Both schemes were acquired in native and post-contrast scans. Results: Datasets from 163 patients were evaluated (age 55 ± 17 years; 38% female). Myocardial T1 native for 5(3)3 was 1017 ± 42 ms vs. 956 ± 40 ms for 4(1)3(1)2, with mean intraindividual difference −61 ms (p < 0.0001). Post-contrast myocardial T1 in patients was similar for both acquisition schemes, with 494 ± 48 ms for 5(3)3 and 490 ± 45 ms for 4(1)3(1)2 and mean intraindividual difference −4 ms. Myocardial ECV for 5(3)3 was 27.6 ± 4% vs. 27 ± 4% for 4(1)3(1)2, with mean difference −0.6 percentage points (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The T1 MOLLI 5(3)3 acquisition scheme provides a reliable estimation of myocardial T1 for the clinically relevant range of long and short T1 values native and post-contrast. In contrast, the T1 MOLLI 4(1)3(1)2 acquisition scheme may only be used for post-contrast scans according to its designed purpose.