Age-independent myocardial infarct quantification by signal intensity percent infarct mapping in swine

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2016 Apr;43(4):911-20. doi: 10.1002/jmri.25046. Epub 2015 Sep 10.

Abstract

Purpose: To test whether signal intensity percent infarct mapping (SI-PIM) accurately determines the size of myocardial infarct (MI) regardless of infarct age.

Materials and methods: Forty-five swine with reperfused MI underwent 1.5T late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after bolus injection of 0.2 mmol/kg Gd(DTPA) on days 2-62 following MI. Animals were classified into acute, healing, and healed groups by pathology. Infarct volume (IV) and infarct fraction (IF) were determined by two readers, using binary techniques (including 2-5 standard deviations [SD] above the remote, and full-width at half-maximum) and the SI-PIM method. Triphenyl-tetrazolium-chloride staining (TTC) was performed as reference. Bias (percent under/overestimation of IV relative to TTC) of each quantification method was calculated. Bland-Altman analysis was done to test the accuracy of the quantification methods, while intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis was done to assess intra- and interobserver agreement.

Results: Bias of the MRI quantification methods do not depend on the age of the MI. Full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) and SI-PIM gave the best estimate of MI volume determined by the reference TTC (P-values for the FWHM and SI-PIM methods were 0.183, 0.26, 0.95, and 0.073, 0.091, 0.73 in Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3, respectively), while using any of the binary thresholds of 2-4 SDs above the remote myocardium showed significant overestimation. The 5 SD method, however, provided similar IV compared to TTC and was shown to be independent of the size and age of MI. ICC analysis showed excellent inter- and intraobserver agreement between the readers.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that the SI-PIM method can accurately determine MI volume regardless of the pathological stage of MI. Once tested, it may prove to be useful for the clinic.

Keywords: infarct quantification; late gadolinium enhancement; myocardial infarct; partial volume effect; signal intensity percent infarct mapping.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Temperature
  • Contrast Media / chemistry
  • Electroencephalography
  • Gadolinium / chemistry
  • Gadolinium DTPA / chemistry
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis*
  • Myocardial Reperfusion
  • Observer Variation
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*
  • Swine
  • Tetrazolium Salts / chemistry
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Contrast Media
  • Tetrazolium Salts
  • triphenyltetrazolium
  • Gadolinium
  • Gadolinium DTPA