Quantitative multi-dimensional assessment of cardiovascular system (qMACS)

Motivation: A recently developed MACS technique provides exquisite delineation of the structure and motion of the whole heart and aorta. However, it lacks T1, T2 information and is limited in assessing complex vascular and myocardial pathologies. Goal(s): To develop a quantitative MACS (qMACS) technique by incorporating T1 and T2 mapping into original MACS imaging pipeline. Approach: The qMACS sequence builds on a multi-tasking imaging framework and stack-of-stars acquisition. Respiratory-resolved T1,T2 maps were generated using dictionary-matching approach. Results: Free‐breathing and ECG-free 3D quantitative imaging of cardiovascular system in 10 minutes is feasible by proposed qMACS. qMACS measured slightly higher myocardial T1/T2 values than reference methods. Impact: qMACS is a time-efficient and patient-friendly technique for both quantitative and qualitative imaging of the whole cardioaortic system and may be used as a gatekeeper approach to the diagnosis of a variety of cardiovascular diseases.