Imaging Delayed Phase Ferumoxytol-Enhancement with Cardiac QSM: a Pilot Animal Study in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Motivation: Delayed enhancement of Ferumoxytol has been associated with tissue inflammation in different organs, such as the brain and vessel walls. But its application to the myocardium has been restricted due to various technical challenges of conventional cardiac iron-sensitive (T2*) imaging. Goal(s): This pilot study employs a confounder-mitigated cardiac QSM technique for precise myocardial iron quantification without the T2* confounders. Approach: We tested the technique in pigs with acute myocardial infarction. Results: Delayed-phase ferumoxytol-enhanced HDR-QSM shows reliable detection of elevated iron content in the edematous myocardium. Showing the potential for visualization and quantification of macrophage infiltration in myocardium post-acute myocardial infarction. Impact: This pilot study demonstrates HDR-QSM's potential for assessing myocardial inflammation, providing a promising tool to monitor post-MI healing and inform targeted therapeutic interventions. FDG PET imaging will be conducted in future studies to validate our findings