What is unique about CMR? Similar to echocardiography, CMR allows the generation of images of the heart without exposure to ionizing radiation. Although the spatial resolution of CMR is comparable to echocardiography (approximately 1 mm), the contrast-to-noise and signal-to-noise ratios are far superior . The latter allows easier delineation of borders between tissues and between blood pool and tissue. The contrast between blood pool and myocardium is generated using differences in signal properties of the different tissues without the use of contrast agents. CMR is also not limited by “acoustic windows” that may hinder echocardiography, and images can be obtained in any tomographic plane. Finally, CMR can provide information about tissue characteristics using differences inT1 and T2 signals, and with addition of contrast agents.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 21:08:48 +0000