Clinical Cardiac MR at 3.0T -- REGISTER NOW

Diagnostic & Interventional Cardiology Webinar Series

Release date: September 16, 2011

Expiration date: September 16, 2012

Supported by an educational grant from Philips Healthcare

Register to view the archive by clicking here.

Faculty
Raja Muthupillai, PhD
MRI Research, Department of Radiology
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
Houston, TX

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the activity, participants will be able to:

• Recognize the challenges in the MR imaging of the heart at 3.0T
• Identify typical CMR artifacts at 3.0T and means for minimizing those artifacts
• Review recent technologic advances in clinical CMR at 3.0T

Intended Audience

This webinar is intended for all cardiology staff and radiologists.

Statement of Purpose

Cardiac MRI has gained widespread clinical acceptance for the assessment of myocardial viability, evaluation of ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathies and for the evaluation of congenital heart disease at 1.5T. With increasing clinical availability of 3.0T MRI scanners there is a desire to tap the higher intrinsic SNR available at 3.0T for CMR applications.  In principle, the higher SNR at 3.0T can be converted into better spatial/contrast resolution, and/or imaging speed.  However, the translation of CMR protocols from 1.5T to 3.0T is not straight-forward. The primary technical challenges for 3.0T CMR imaging are the increased sensitivity to B_o field inhomogeneity, B1+ inhomogeneity, and SAR constraints.  These challenges adversely affect the most commonly used CMR pulse sequences, e.g., steady state free precession (SSFP) sequences for cine imaging, double-inversion recovery black-blood sequence for tissue characterization, or other magnetization prepared sequences. 

Many of the challenges can be addressed with the knowledge of the source of the image artifact, and implementing an appropriate artifact mitigation strategy.  The lecture will cover the basics of the technical challenges associated with CMR at 3.0T, and recent technological advances that provide means for addressing those challenges

Disclosure Information

The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL) requires that the faculty participating in a CME/CE activity disclose all affiliations or other financial relationships (1) with the manufacturers of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of commercial services discussed in an educational presentation and (2) with any commercial supporters of the activity. Conflict resolution must occur prior to the CME/CE activity. The ACHL also requires participating faculty to disclose when unapproved/unlabeled uses of a product are discussed in a CME/CE activity.

Raja Muthupillai, PhD (Faculty) Type of financial relationships: Research Support: Philips Healthcare

Discussion of Off-Label, Investigational, or Experimental Drug Use: Gd-chelate based contrast agents (GBCA) for cardiac indications.

Staff Disclosure

The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning and Scranton Gillette Communications staff  members and others involved with the planning, development, and review of the content for this activity have no relevant affiliations or financial relationships to disclose.

Method of Participation for CME

This is a recorded webcast originally presented live on September 8, 2011. To participate in this activity, the participant should review the learning objectives and faculty/staff disclosures, view the online Webcast, reflect on the content, and complete the post-test. This activity will take approximately one hour to complete. A certificate of credit will be immediately available when the completed post-test and evaluation are submitted online (see additional instructions below). A minimum passing score of 65% must be achieved on the post-test. There is no fee to participate in the activity or for the generation of the certificate.

To receive credit, participants are required to

1. View the online webcast in its entirety.
2. Go to www.accessCME.org, click on “Get Certificate” (top left corner), enter the Certificate Code provided on the webcast slides, and complete post-test.

Accreditation and Credit Designation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL) and Scranton Gillette Communications. ACHL is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

References

An IMV 2010 MR Market Outlook Report, page 57, indicates cardiac MRI exams across all field strengths represents only 1% of the 30.2 million procedures performed in 2010.

Register to view the archive by clicking here.

Questions about CME for this activity, please contact mdaiga@achlcme.org; 773-714-0705 x228.

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