MRI is poised for a bigger role in cardiac imaging, thanks to new scanners with higher field strengths, better coil designs, innovative imaging protocols, and advanced contrast media. Cardiac functional assessment, which CT can approach in only very limited circumstances, is second nature for MRI. But is 3-tesla ready for the spotlight?
In our Insider Exclusive article, Dr. Christopher Kramer from the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville discusses emerging MR-related technologies in heart imaging, such as the promise of scanning at higher field strengths.
The higher signal-to-noise ratio of 3-tesla machines bodes well for signal-starved applications like coronary and perfusion imaging, Kramer notes. But higher field strengths also produce more artifacts, as well as gating problems. And when you factor in the lack of time-tested 3-tesla protocols, it seems that 1.5-tesla MRI remains a good choice for heart imaging in 2006. Explore the future of cardiac MR in this issue's Insider Exclusive article, delivered to you before it is published for our other members.
In any case, MRI won't be having all the fun. In our Cardiac Imaging Digital Community Dr. James Thomas from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation talks about ultrasound -- the most versatile cardiac imaging modality on the block. Click here to learn about the multidimensional future of echocardiography.
In cardiac CT, Dr. Geoffrey Rubin from California's Stanford University ponders the when and how of reimbursement in an era of tighter budgets and expanding imaging options in a story by staff writer Wayne Forrest, who also reports on the emerging complementary role of CT to MRI for cardiac imaging. And you won't want to miss a recent article on the heart-stopping power of 256-slice CT.
From the World Congress of Cardiology in Barcelona, contributing writer Edward Susman reports on a comparison of 16-slice cardiac CTA to IVUS for imaging acute coronary syndromes.
You'll find more news below, from every chamber of the heart and every corner of the globe, right here in AuntMinnie.com's Cardiac Imaging Digital Community.
