• Ashraf Hamdan, Sebastian Kelle, Bernhard Schnackenburg, Ernst Wellnhofer, Eckart Fleck, and Eike Nagel.
• Department of Internal Medicine/Cardiology, German Heart Institute Berlin, Berlin, Germany. hamdashraf@gmail.com
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2008 May 1; 27 (5): 1028-36.

PurposeTo prospectively determine the feasibility and accuracy of a four-dimensional (4D) k-space over time broad-use linear acquisition speed-up technique (k-t BLAST) for the evaluation of left ventricular (LV) volumes in comparison to standard multiple-breathhold cine imaging, using a 3.0 Tesla (3T) MR system.Materials And MethodsIn 23 subjects, short-axis cine loops completely covering the LV were acquired using conventional turbo gradient echo (GRE) imaging. Immediately after administration of gadobenate dimeglumine, a rapid single-breathhold k-t BLAST 4D dataset with the same coverage was acquired and reconstructed to short-axis views. Quantitative aortic flow measurement for LV stroke volume (LVSV) was used to calibrate both techniques. For GRE and k-t BLAST cine imaging: LV volumes, ejection fraction (EF), and blood-to-myocardium-contrast (BMC) were determined.Resultsk-t BLAST and GRE sequences showed a strong correlation for LV volumes and EF (r = 0.97-0.99; P < 0.001). Excellent agreement was also found between the LVSV determined by aortic flow measurements and LVSV assessed using GRE sequence and k-t BLAST sequence. BMC of GRE was similar to that of k-t BLAST cine imaging.ConclusionThe use of the single-breathhold 4D k-t BLAST technique for the assessment of LV volume is feasible and accurate in 3T MRI.(c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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