The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 45, 505-514, Copyright © 1988 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Noninvasive three-dimensional reconstruction of the heart and great vessels by ECG-gated magnetic resonance imaging: a new diagnostic modality
JC Laschinger, MW Vannier, S Gronemeyer, F Gutierrez, M Rosenbloom and JL Cox
Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110.
We have developed a new method of computer image processing that allows
true three-dimensional (3-D) images of the heart and great vessels to be
reconstructed from standard ECG-gated two-dimensional magnetic resonance
(MR) images. Contiguous 5-mm thick MR images of the thorax from the level
of the cardiac apex to the aortic arch were obtained in 4 normal volunteers
and 3 patients with congenital heart disease: 1 with pseudotruncus
arteriosus and 1 with a ventricular septal defect, each with Eisenmenger's
complex, and 1 with aortic coarctation. Each image could be obtained at up
to seven different intervals throughout the cardiac cycle with ECG gating.
The scanning procedure is noninvasive and requires no contrast material.
Using standard software, images from each interval in the cardiac cycle
were edited to isolate pertinent cardiac and great vessel structures.
High-resolution 3-D reconstructions were formed for each interval by
stacking the edited images. Sequential projection of 3-D reconstructions
from each interval yields four-dimensional (includes time) cine views. Both
3-D and cine views can be obtained from any axis or divided in any plane to
allow accurate, noninvasive assessment of cardiac and great vessel anatomy,
chamber volumes, and regional and global wall motion. Noninvasive 3-D
reconstruction of the heart and great vessels provides accurate anatomical
data not available from standard cardiac catheterization or other
noninvasive diagnostic procedures, and aids in the preoperative planning of
the procedure to correct complex congenital malformations.
