Myocardial first-pass perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance: history, theory, and current state of the art

Bernhard L Gerber¹ , Subha V Raman² , Krishna Nayak³ , Frederick H Epstein⁴ , Pedro Ferreira⁵ , Leon Axel⁶ and Dara L Kraitchman⁷

¹Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium

²Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

³Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

⁴Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

⁵National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK

⁶Department of Radiology, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

⁷Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

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Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2008, 10:18doi:10.1186/1532-429X-10-18


Published:	28 April 2008

Abstract

In less than two decades, first-pass perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has undergone a wide range of changes with the development and availability of improved hardware, software, and contrast agents, in concert with a better understanding of the mechanisms of contrast enhancement. The following review provides a perspective of the historical development of first-pass CMR, the developments in pulse sequence design and contrast agents, the relevant animal models used in early preclinical studies, the mechanism of artifacts, the differences between 1.5T and 3T scanning, and the relevant clinical applications and protocols. This comprehensive overview includes a summary of the past clinical performance of first-pass perfusion CMR and current clinical applications using state-of-the-art methodologies.