Gavin D. Merrifield1,
Jim Mullin2, Carl S. Tucker3, Martin A. Denvir3,
William M. Holmes2
1School
of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom; 2Glasgow experimental MRI
Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; 3Cardiovascular
Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
The zebrafish has emerged as an excellent model for cardiovascular research, with many researchers being attracted by the increasing availability of molecular, genetic and physiological research tools. However, unlike with mammalian models, live imaging of heart function remains challenging in the adult zebrafish1. Unlike embryos (<5day), the skin of adult zebrafish is non-transparent, i.e. pigmented and scaled, thereby precluding optical methods. We have explored the possibility of using MRI for in-vivo cardiac imaging of adult zebrafish, by implementing a retrospective self-gated cardiac sequence.
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