Cardiac steady-state free precession CINE magnetic resonance imaging at 3.0 tesla - Impact of parallel imaging acceleration on volumetric accuracy and signal parameters

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the impact of 3.0 T on accelerated CINE steady-state free precession (SSFP) regarding signal parameters and its volumetric accuracy. Material and Methods: Ten individuals underwent cardiac CINE imaging at 1.5 T and 3.0 T using standard single-slice CINE and multislice TSENSE-accelerated CINE (5 slices/breath-hold) with 4-fold acceleration. Data were evaluated for left ventricular volumetric parameters (EDV, ESV, and EF) as well as for SNR and CNR. Phantom based data allowed for g-factor evaluation for estimation of noise levels for accelerated data sets. Volumetric results and signal parameters were compared with results of single-slice UNE SSFP at 1.5 T as standard of reference (SOR). Results: Single-slice UNE at 3.0 T showed a similar to 90% increase in CNR compared with the SOR (P < 0.001). At 3.0 T, TSENSE CINE showed a less pronounced estimated loss in CNR (-58 +/- 6%) compared with single-slice CINE than at 1.5 T (-71 +/- 2%). 3.0 T TSENSE CINE showed a 21 +/- 18% lower CNR than the nonaccelerated 1.5 T CINE (P < 0.05). EF results for all data sets did not show any significant error while for EDV some errors have been encountered. Conclusion: 3.0 T permits compensation for the high CNR loss, which accompanies the 4-fold TSENSE acceleration at 1.5 T and shows volumetric accuracy. The use of parallel imaging may help to alleviate SAR limitations at higher field strength.