Dear MRI Insider,
Here at the MRI Digital Community we have a lot of heart -- or at least a lot of love for research on MRI in cardiac imaging. In this issue we feature two Insider Exclusives on the role of MRI in cases of patent foramen ovale (PFO).
To refresh your memory, PFO is a persistent opening in the wall of the heart, possibly causing blood to shunt from the right side of the heart (low pressure) to the left side (high pressure). Our first article highlights a pilot study that relied on MRI to detect PFO and atrial septal aneurysm, and also compared it to the gold standard, transesophageal echocardiography. Click here to read more.
The second Insider Exclusive questions the link between PFO and cerebral damage in scuba divers. Conventional wisdom has held that divers with PFO are at a greater risk for paradoxical embolism of gas bubbles. However, the results of an MR study from the German Naval Medical Institute in Kiel indicate the risk may have been overstated. For the details, click here.
Also featured in the MRI Digital Community is research from the 2004 RSNA conference on the value of 3D MRA for evaluating aortic dissection. Another story looks at how pulsed arterial spin-labeled MRI can be used to assess neonates with severe congenital heart defects. We also have the results of the first published comparison between MRI and multidetector CT for evaluating coronary artery stenosis.
Finally, we'd like to wish you a hale and hearty new year!
