Expanding imaging for cardiac health to more patients

Imaging is a vital tool for assessing the health and strength of the heart. In two recent studies, Yale researchers have explored how to bring critical imaging to more people and how to expand its application.

In the first study, published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Yale researchers and collaborators at the National Institutes of Health evaluated whether a lower-strength, more affordable type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner could be used effectively for cardiovascular imaging. The strength of MRI magnets is measured in Teslas (T), and most MRI scanners used in hospitals are 1.5T or 3.0T.

Jie Xiang, a Ph.D. student in the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, applied a new data-acquisition method to the more affordable 0.55T MRI scanner. The researchers found that their method successfully boosted the signal that could be acquired, which could potentially enable more accurate imaging data.

“We think this will be the method of choice for measuring blood flow when these cheaper, more accessible MRI magnets begin to proliferate,” said Dana Peters, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at Yale School of Medicine. “It improves the quality of measurements in these affordable scanners that will hopefully bring imaging to more individuals who need it.”

In the second study, published in Physiological Reports, Peters and her colleagues evaluated whether MRI could be used to assess diastolic dysfunction, a condition in which the heart doesn’t properly fill with blood as it beats.

“There is currently no MRI approach for detecting this very common and serious condition, responsible for 50% of heart failure,” said Peters. “Our group and others want to change that.”

When the researchers compared their MRI approach to the current standard of care for detecting diastolic dysfunction—ultrasound—they found it performed just as well, meaning MRI is an additional, highly sensitive tool with which clinicians can evaluate their patients.