Cardiac Phantom-based Inter-site Calibration of T2, T1, and ECV Measurements

Motivation: Acute rejection is the leading cause of death in pediatric heart transplant (PHTx) recipients. Endomyocardial biopsy is currently required to monitor for rejection. Quantitative cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a potential non-invasive monitoring tool, with T2, T1, and ECV mapping providing information about fibrosis and edema. However, measurements vary between sites. Goal(s): To measure inter-site/temporal variability and calibrate multisite PHTx CMR data. Approach: We investigated manganese-chloride solution cardiac phantom T2 and T1 repeatability and inter-site variation, and impact of calibration on PHTx data. Results: Calibration reduced inter-site variability in phantom and PHTx measurements. Impact: Our preliminary results illustrating inter-site variation in CMR-relevant phantom T2 and T1 measurements support the need for inter-site calibration when multi-center trials are conducted using CMR parametric imaging (T2, T1, and calculated ECV).