Abstract #0226

Mapping Regional Right Ventricular Myocardial Strain Using 3D Cine DENSE MRI

Daniel A. Auger¹, Xiaodong Zhong², Frederick H. Epstein³, Bruce S. Spottiswoode¹,⁴

¹MRC/UCT Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa; ²MR R&D Collaborations, Siemens Healthcare, Atlanta, GA, United States; ³Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States; ⁴Division of Radiology, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

The mechanics of the right ventricle (RV) are notoriously difficult to quantify because of the RVs thin wall and irregular geometry. However, the recently developed spiral 3D cine DENSE MRI technique is well suited to imaging the RV. This work presents model-free techniques to study the myocardial mechanics of the RV at a high spatial resolution using spiral 3D cine DENSE MRI. These involve tailored post-processing algorithms for mid-wall tissue tracking and strain estimation. The RV is subdivided into four regions according to anatomical landmarks, and the temporal evolution of strain is assessed for a group of normal volunteers.