Anjuli Ruehle1, Wolfgang Renz1, 2, Lukas Winter1, Harald Pfeiffer1, 3, Jan Ruff2, Jan Rieger1, Thoralf Niendorf1, 4
1Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility, Max-Delbrueck-Centrum for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany; 2Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany; 3Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin, Germany; 4Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Charit Campus Buch, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany
Insight of physiological processes and cellular metabolism makes 23Na-MRI conceptually appealing as non-invasive imaging discipline. Several studies report the applicability of 23Na-MRI for the detection and assessment of acute and chronic heart disease due to increased sodium concentration after myocardial infarctions. Bi-exponential decay of the signal and a low SNR compared to 1H-MRI makes 23Na-MRI unattractive for clinical use. With a high SNR and fast imaging technologies ultrahigh field MRI brings 23Na-MRI back into focus. In this study a new radiofrequency coil for cardiac MRI at 7T was developed and a volunteer study, as a precursor to a broader clinical study was performed.
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