Cardiac Phase-Resolved 3D SSFP Myocardial BOLD Imaging in Canines with Coronary Artery Stenosis

Xiangzhi Zhou¹, Sven Zuehlsdorff², Saurabh Shah², Richard Tang¹, Rachel Klein¹, Debiao Li¹, Rohan Dharmakumar¹

Myocardial BOLD imaging may be a useful method for evaluating the microcirculatory oxygenation changes resulting from coronary artery stenosis. This work investigates the utility of 3D cine SSFP BOLD imaging for identifying regional myocardial oxygenation changes throughout the left ventricle using a canine model with controllable coronary stenosis. The findings from this study show that 3D SSFP BOLD imaging may be a viable method for assessing regional changes in myocardial oxygenation within the left ventricle. Additional technical improvements are likely necessary to fully explore the benefits of 3D SSFP imaging in the clinical environment.