MR based measures of myocardial extra cellular volume fraction (ECV) obtained from pre and post-contrast T1 mapping are frequently used in research studies. However, typically ECV calculations rely on rapid exchange of water molecules between the intra and extracellular space. We assess the validity of the shutter speed approximation of the full two-compartment model and use this model to assess the effect of limited water exchange rate between the cardiomyocytes and interstitial fluid. For typical conditions used in measuring ECV, we demonstrate an underestimation of ECV on a similar magnitude to the changes attributed to disease in some studies.
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