Browsing by Author "Botnar, René Michael"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 22
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    3D Cartesian fast interrupted steady-state (FISS) imaging
    (2019) Küstner, Thomas; Bustin, Aurélien; Jaubert, Olivier; Neji, Radhouene; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia; Botnar, René Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    3D joint T 1/T 1 ρ/T 2 mapping and water-fat imaging for contrast-agent free myocardial tissue characterization at 1.5T.
    (2025) Crabb, Michael G.; Kunze, Karl P.; Littlewood, Simon J.; Tripp, Donovan; Fotaki, Anastasia; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia; Botnar, René Michael
    PURPOSE: To develop a novel, free-breathing, 3D joint T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ / T 1 ρ $$ {T}_{1\rho } $$ / T 2 $$ {T}_2 $$ mapping sequence with Dixon encoding to provide co-registered 3D T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ , T 1 ρ $$ {T}_{1\rho } $$ , and T 2 $$ {T}_2 $$ maps and water-fat volumes with isotropic spatial resolution in a single ≈ 7 $$ \approx 7 $$ min scan for comprehensive contrast-agent-free myocardial tissue characterization and simultaneous evaluation of the whole-heart anatomy. METHODS: An interleaving sequence over 5 heartbeats is proposed to provide T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ , T 1 ρ $$ {T}_{1\rho } $$ , and T 2 $$ {T}_2 $$ encoding, with 3D data acquired with Dixon gradient-echo readout and 2D image navigators to enable 100 % $$ 100\% $$ respiratory scan efficiency. Images were reconstructed with a non-rigid motion-corrected, low-rank patch-based reconstruction, and maps were generated through dictionary matching. The proposed sequence was compared against conventional 2D techniques in phantoms, 10 healthy subjects, and 1 patient. RESULTS: The proposed 3D T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ , T 1 ρ $$ {T}_{1\rho } $$ , and T 2 $$ {T}_2 $$ measurements showed excellent correlation with 2D reference measurements in phantoms. For healthy subjects, the mapping values of septal myocardial tissue were T 1 = 1060 ± 48 ms $$ {T}_1=1060\pm 48\kern0.2778em \mathrm{ms} $$ , T 1 ρ = 48 . 1 ± 3 . 9 ms $$ {T}_{1\rho }=48.1\pm 3.9\kern0.2778em \mathrm{ms} $$ , and T 2 = 44 . 2 ± 3 . 2 ms $$ {T}_2=44.2\pm 3.2\kern0.2778em \mathrm{ms} $$ for the proposed sequence, against T 1 = 959 ± 15 ms $$ {T}_1=959\pm 15\kern0.2778em \mathrm{ms} $$ , T 1 ρ = 56 . 4 ± 1 . 9 ms $$ {T}_{1\rho }=56.4\pm 1.9\kern0.2778em \mathrm{ms} $$ , and T 2 = 47 . 3 ± 1 . 5 ms $$ {T}_2=47.3\pm 1.5\kern0.2778em \mathrm{ms} $$ for 2D MOLLI, 2D T 1 ρ $$ {T}_{1\rho } $$ -prep bSSFP and 2D T 2 $$ {T}_2 $$ -prep bSSFP, respectively. Promising results were obtained when comparing the proposed mapping to 2D references in 1 patient with active myocarditis. CONCLUSION: The proposed approach enables simultaneous 3D whole-heart joint T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ / T 1 ρ $$ {T}_{1\rho } $$ / T 2 $$ {T}_2 $$ mapping and water/fat imaging in ≈ $$ \approx $$ 7 min scan time, demonstrating good agreement with conventional mapping techniques in phantoms and healthy subjects and promising results in 1 patient with suspected cardiovascular disease.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    3D SASHA myocardial T1 mapping with high accuracy and improved precision
    (2019) Nordio, Giovanna; Bustin, Aurélien; Henningsson, Markus; Rashid, Imran; Chiribiri, Amedeo; Ismail, Tevfik; Odille, Freddy; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia; Botnar, René Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    3D whole-heart grey-blood late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging
    (2021) Milotta, Giorgia; Munoz, Camila; Kunze, Karl P.; Neji, Radhouene; Figliozzi, Stefano; Chiribiri, Amedeo; Hajhosseiny, R.; Masci, Pier Giorgio; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia; Botnar, René Michael
    Abstract Purpose To develop a free-breathing whole-heart isotropic-resolution 3D late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) sequence with Dixon-encoding, which provides co-registered 3D grey-blood phase-sensitive inversion-recovery (PSIR) and complementary 3D fat volumes in a single scan of < 7 min. Methods A free-breathing 3D PSIR LGE sequence with dual-echo Dixon readout with a variable density Cartesian trajectory with acceleration factor of 3 is proposed. Image navigators are acquired to correct both inversion recovery (IR)-prepared and reference volumes for 2D translational respiratory motion, enabling motion compensated PSIR reconstruction with 100% respiratory scan efficiency. An intermediate PSIR reconstruction is performed between the in-phase echoes to estimate the signal polarity which is subsequently applied to the IR-prepared water volume to generate a water grey-blood PSIR image. The IR-prepared water volume is obtained using a water/fat separation algorithm from the corresponding dual-echo readout. The complementary fat-volume is obtained after water/fat separation of the reference volume. Ten patients (6 with myocardial scar) were scanned with the proposed water/fat grey-blood 3D PSIR LGE sequence at 1.5 T and compared to breath-held grey-blood 2D LGE sequence in terms of contrast ratio (CR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), scar depiction, scar transmurality, scar mass and image quality. Results Comparable CRs (p = 0.98, 0.40 and 0.83) and CNRs (p = 0.29, 0.40 and 0.26) for blood-myocardium, scar-myocardium and scar-blood respectively were obtained with the proposed free-breathing 3D water/fat LGE and 2D clinical LGE scan. Excellent agreement for scar detection, scar transmurality, scar mass (bias = 0.29%) and image quality scores (from 1: non-diagnostic to 4: excellent) of 3.8 ± 0.42 and 3.6 ± 0.69 (p > 0.99) were obtained with the 2D and 3D PSIR LGE approaches with comparable total acquisition time (p = 0.29). Similar agreement in intra and inter-observer variability were obtained for the 2D and 3D acquisition respectively. Conclusion The proposed approach enabled the acquisition of free-breathing motion-compensated isotropic-resolution 3D grey-blood PSIR LGE and fat volumes. The proposed approach showed good agreement with conventional 2D LGE in terms of CR, scar depiction and scan time, while enabling free-breathing acquisition, whole-heart coverage, reformatting in arbitrary views and visualization of both water and fat information.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A clinical combined gadobutrol bolus and slow infusion protocol enabling angiography, inversion recovery whole heart, and late gadolinium enhancement imaging in a single study
    (2016) Tandon, Animesh; James, Lorraine; Henningsson, Markus; Botnar, René Michael; Potersnak, Amanda; Greil, Gerald F; Hussain, Tarique
    Abstract Background The use of gadolinium contrast agents in cardiovascular magnetic resonance is well-established and serves to improve both vascular imaging as well as enable late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging for tissue characterization. Currently, gadofosveset trisodium, an intravascular contrast agent, combined with a three-dimensional inversion recovery balanced steady state free precession (3D IR bSSFP) sequence, is commonly used in pediatric cardiac imaging and yields excellent vascular imaging, but cannot be used for late gadolinium enhancement. Gadofosveset use remains limited in clinical practice, and manufacture was recently halted, thus an alternative is needed to allow 3D IR bSSFP and LGE in the same study. Methods Here we propose a protocol to give a bolus of 0.1 mL/kg = 0.1 mmol/kg gadobutrol (GADAVIST/GADOVIST) for time-resolved magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Subsequently, 0.1 mmol/kg is diluted up to 5 or 7.5 mL with saline and then loaded into intravenous tubing connected to the patient. A 0.5 mL short bolus is infused, then a slow infusion is given at 0.02 or 0.03 mL/s. Image navigated (iNAV) 3D IR bSSFP imaging is initiated 45–60 s after the initiation of the infusion, with a total image acquisition time of ~5 min. If necessary, LGE imaging using phase sensitive inversion recovery reconstruction (PSIR) is performed at 10 min after the infusion is initiated. Results We have successfully performed the above protocol with good image quality on 10 patients with both time-resolved MRA and 3D IR bSSFP iNAV imaging. Our initial attempts to use pencil beam respiratory navigation failed due to signal labeling in the liver by the navigator. We have also performed 2D PSIR LGE successfully, with both LGE positive and LGE negative results. Conclusion A bolus of gadobutrol, followed later by a slow infusion, allows time-resolved MRA, 3D IR bSSFP using the iNAV navigation technique, and LGE imaging, all in a single study with a single contrast agent.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A multi-scale variational neural network for accelerating motion-compensated whole-heart 3D coronary MR angiography
    (2020) Fuin, N.; Bustin, A.; Kustner, T.; Oksuz, I.; Clough, J.; King, A. P.; Schnabel, J. A.; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Accelerating three-dimensional molecular cardiovascular MR imaging using compressed sensing
    (2012) Prieto Vásquez, Claudia; Andia, Marcelo E.; von Bary, Christian; Onthank, David C.; Schaeffter, Tobias; Botnar, René Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Aortic length measurements for pulse wave velocity calculation: manual 2D vs automated 3D centreline extraction
    (2017) van Engelen, Arna.; Silva Vieira, Miguel; Rafiq, Isma; Cecelja, Marina; Schneider, Torben; de Bliek, Hubrecht; Figueroa, C. A; Hussain, Tarique; Botnar, René Michael; Alastruey, Jordi
    Abstract Background Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a biomarker for the intrinsic stiffness of the aortic wall, and has been shown to be predictive for cardiovascular events. It can be assessed using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) from the delay between phase-contrast flow waveforms at two or more locations in the aorta, and the distance on CMR images between those locations. This study aimed to investigate the impact of different distance measurement methods on PWV. We present and evaluate an algorithm for automated centreline tracking in 3D images, and compare PWV calculations using distances derived from 3D images to those obtained from a conventional 2D oblique-sagittal image of the aorta. Methods We included 35 patients from a twin cohort, and 20 post-coarctation repair patients. Phase-contrast flow was acquired in the ascending, descending and diaphragmatic aorta. A 3D centreline tracking algorithm is presented and evaluated on a subset of 30 subjects, on three CMR sequences: balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP), black-blood double inversion recovery turbo spin echo, and contrast-enhanced CMR angiography. Aortic lengths are subsequently compared between measurements from a 2D oblique-sagittal plane, and a 3D geometry. Results The error in length of automated 3D centreline tracking compared with manual annotations ranged from 2.4 [1.8-4.3] mm (mean [IQR], black-blood) to 6.4 [4.7-8.9] mm (SSFP). The impact on PWV was below 0.5m/s (<5%). Differences between 2D and 3D centreline length were significant for the majority of our experiments (p < 0.05). Individual differences in PWV were larger than 0.5m/s in 15% of all cases (thoracic aorta) and 37% when studying the aortic arch only. Finally, the difference between end-diastolic and end-systolic 2D centreline lengths was statistically significant (p < 0.01), but resulted in small differences in PWV (0.08 [0.04 - 0.10]m/s). Conclusions Automatic aortic centreline tracking in three commonly used CMR sequences is possible with good accuracy. The 3D length obtained from such sequences can differ considerably from lengths obtained from a 2D oblique-sagittal plane, depending on aortic curvature, adequate planning of the oblique-sagittal plane, and patient motion between acquisitions. For accurate PWV measurements we recommend using 3D centrelines.Abstract Background Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a biomarker for the intrinsic stiffness of the aortic wall, and has been shown to be predictive for cardiovascular events. It can be assessed using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) from the delay between phase-contrast flow waveforms at two or more locations in the aorta, and the distance on CMR images between those locations. This study aimed to investigate the impact of different distance measurement methods on PWV. We present and evaluate an algorithm for automated centreline tracking in 3D images, and compare PWV calculations using distances derived from 3D images to those obtained from a conventional 2D oblique-sagittal image of the aorta. Methods We included 35 patients from a twin cohort, and 20 post-coarctation repair patients. Phase-contrast flow was acquired in the ascending, descending and diaphragmatic aorta. A 3D centreline tracking algorithm is presented and evaluated on a subset of 30 subjects, on three CMR sequences: balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP), black-blood double inversion recovery turbo spin echo, and contrast-enhanced CMR angiography. Aortic lengths are subsequently compared between measurements from a 2D oblique-sagittal plane, and a 3D geometry. Results The error in length of automated 3D centreline tracking compared with manual annotations ranged from 2.4 [1.8-4.3] mm (mean [IQR], black-blood) to 6.4 [4.7-8.9] mm (SSFP). The impact on PWV was below 0.5m/s (<5%). Differences between 2D and 3D centreline length were significant for the majority of our experiments (p < 0.05). Individual differences in PWV were larger than 0.5m/s in 15% of all cases (thoracic aorta) and 37% when studying the aortic arch only. Finally, the difference between end-diastolic and end-systolic 2D centreline lengths was statistically significant (p < 0.01), but resulted in small differences in PWV (0.08 [0.04 - 0.10]m/s). Conclusions Automatic aortic centreline tracking in three commonly used CMR sequences is possible with good accuracy. The 3D length obtained from such sequences can differ considerably from lengths obtained from a 2D oblique-sagittal plane, depending on aortic curvature, adequate planning of the oblique-sagittal plane, and patient motion between acquisitions. For accurate PWV measurements we recommend using 3D centrelines.Abstract Background Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a biomarker for the intrinsic stiffness of the aortic wall, and has been shown to be predictive for cardiovascular events. It can be assessed using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) from the delay between phase-contrast flow waveforms at two or more locations in the aorta, and the distance on CMR images between those locations. This study aimed to investigate the impact of different distance measurement methods on PWV. We present and evaluate an algorithm for automated centreline tracking in 3D images, and compare PWV calculations using distances derived from 3D images to those obtained from a conventional 2D oblique-sagittal image of the aorta. Methods We included 35 patients from a twin cohort, and 20 post-coarctation repair patients. Phase-contrast flow was acquired in the ascending, descending and diaphragmatic aorta. A 3D centreline tracking algorithm is presented and evaluated on a subset of 30 subjects, on three CMR sequences: balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP), black-blood double inversion recovery turbo spin echo, and contrast-enhanced CMR angiography. Aortic lengths are subsequently compared between measurements from a 2D oblique-sagittal plane, and a 3D geometry. Results The error in length of automated 3D centreline tracking compared with manual annotations ranged from 2.4 [1.8-4.3] mm (mean [IQR], black-blood) to 6.4 [4.7-8.9] mm (SSFP). The impact on PWV was below 0.5m/s (<5%). Differences between 2D and 3D centreline length were significant for the majority of our experiments (p < 0.05). Individual differences in PWV were larger than 0.5m/s in 15% of all cases (thoracic aorta) and 37% when studying the aortic arch only. Finally, the difference between end-diastolic and end-systolic 2D centreline lengths was statistically significant (p < 0.01), but resulted in small differences in PWV (0.08 [0.04 - 0.10]m/s). Conclusions Automatic aortic centreline tracking in three commonly used CMR sequences is possible with good accuracy. The 3D length obtained from such sequences can differ considerably from lengths obtained from a 2D oblique-sagittal plane, depending on aortic curvature, adequate planning of the oblique-sagittal plane, and patient motion between acquisitions. For accurate PWV measurements we recommend using 3D centrelines.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Coronary MR angiography at 3T: fat suppression versus water-fat separation
    (2016) Nezafat, M.; Henningsson, M.; Ripley, D. P.; Dedieu, N.; Greil, G.; Greenwood, J. P.; Börnert, P.; Plein, S.; Botnar, René Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Free-running cardiac magnetic resonance fingerprinting: Joint T1/T2 map and Cine imaging
    (2020) Jaubert, Olivier Francois; Cruz, Gastao; Bustin, Aurelien; Schneider, Torben; Koken, Peter; Doneva, Mariya; Rueckert, Daniel; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
    Purpose: To develop and evaluate a novel non-ECG triggered 2D magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) sequence allowing for simultaneous myocardial T-1 and T-2 mapping and cardiac Cine imaging.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Free-running simultaneous myocardial T1/T2 mapping and cine imaging with 3D whole-heart coverage and isotropic spatial resolution
    (2019) Qi, Haikun; Bustin, Aurélien; Cruz, Gastao; Jaubert, Olivier; Chen, Huijun; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Isotropic 3D Cartesian single breath-hold CINE MRI with multi-bin patch-based low-rank reconstruction
    (2020) Küstner, T.; Bustin, A.; Jaubert, O.; Hajhosseiny, R.; Masci, P. G.; Neji, R.; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Latest Advances in Image Acceleration: All Dimensions are Fair Game
    (2022) Muñoz, Camila; Fotaki, Anastasia; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a versatile modality that can generate high-resolution images with a variety of tissue contrasts. However, MRI is a slow technique and requires long acquisition times, which increase with higher temporal and spatial resolution and/or when multiple contrasts and large volumetric coverage is required. In order to speedup MR data acquisition, several approaches have been introduced in the literature. Most of these techniques acquire less data than required and exploit intrinsic redundancies in the MR images to recover the information that was not sampled. This article presents a review of MR acquisition and reconstruction methods that have exploited redundancies in the temporal, spatial, and contrast/parametric dimensions to accelerate image data acquisition, focusing on cardiac and abdominal MR imaging applications. The review describes how each of these dimensions has been separately exploited for speeding up MR acquisition to then discuss more advanced techniques where multiple dimensions are exploited together for further reducing scan times. Finally, future directions for multidimensional image acceleration and remaining technical challenges are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    MRI with gadofosveset : a potential marker for permeability in myocardial infarction
    (2018) Lavin, Begoña; Protti, Andrea; Lorrio, Silvia; Dong, Xuebin; Phinikaridou, Alkystis; Botnar, René Michael; Shah, Ajay
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Noninvasive Imaging of Endothelial Damage in Patients With Different HbA(1c) Levels : A Proof-of-Concept Study
    (2019) Engel, Leif-Christopher; Landmesser, Ulf; Goehler, Alexander; Gigengack, Kevin; Wurster, Thomas-Heinrich; Manes, Costantina; Girke, Georg; Jaguszewski, Milosz; Skurk, Carsten; Botnar, René Michael; Leistner, David M.; Lauten, Alexander; Schuster, Andreas; Noutsias, Michel; Hamm, Bernd; Bigalke, Boris; Makowski, Marcus R.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Optimized respiratory-resolved motion-compensated 3D cartesian coronary MR angiography
    (2018) Correia, Teresa; Ginami, Giulia; Cruz, Gastão; Neji, Radhouene; Rashid, Imran; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    PET/CT and MR imaging biomarker of lipid-rich plaques using [Cu-64]-labeled scavenger receptor (CD68-Fc)
    (2014) Bigalke, B.; Phinikaridou, A.; Andía Kohnenkampf, Marcelo Edgardo; Cooper, M.; Schuster, A.; Wurster, T.; Onthank, D.; Muench, G.; Blower, P.; Gawaz, M.; Nagel, E.; Botnar, René Michael
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Quantification of myocardial scar of different etiology using dark- and bright-blood late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance
    (2024) Jada, Lamis; Holtackers, Robert J .; Martens, Bibi; Nies, Hedwig M. J. M.; Van De Heyning, Caroline M.; Botnar, René Michael; Wildberger, Joachim E.; Ismail, Tevfik; Razavi, Reza; Chiribiri, Amedeo
    Dark-blood late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) has been shown to improve the visualization and quantification of areas of ischemic scar compared to standard bright-blood LGE. Recently, the performance of various semi-automated quantification methods has been evaluated for the assessment of infarct size using both dark-blood LGE and conventional bright-blood LGE with histopathology as a reference standard. However, the impact of this sequence on different quantification strategies in vivo remains uncertain. In this study, various semi-automated scar quantification methods were evaluated for a range of different ischemic and non-ischemic pathologies encountered in clinical practice. A total of 62 patients referred for clinical cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) were retrospectively included. All patients had a confirmed diagnosis of either ischemic heart disease (IHD; n = 21), dilated/non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM; n = 21), or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM; n = 20) and underwent CMR on a 1.5 T scanner including both bright- and dark-blood LGE using a standard PSIR sequence. Both methods used identical sequence settings as per clinical protocol, apart from the inversion time parameter, which was set differently. All short-axis LGE images with scar were manually segmented for epicardial and endocardial borders. The extent of LGE was then measured visually by manual signal thresholding, and semi-automatically by signal thresholding using the standard deviation (SD) and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) methods. For all quantification methods in the IHD group, except the 6 SD method, dark-blood LGE detected significantly more enhancement compared to bright-blood LGE (p < 0.05 for all methods). For both bright-blood and dark-blood LGE, the 6 SD method correlated best with manual thresholding (16.9% vs. 17.1% and 20.1% vs. 20.4%, respectively). For the NICM group, no significant differences between LGE methods were found. For bright-blood LGE, the 5 SD method agreed best with manual thresholding (9.3% vs. 11.0%), while for dark-blood LGE the 4 SD method agreed best (12.6% vs. 11.5%). Similarly, for the HCM group no significant differences between LGE methods were found. For bright-blood LGE, the 6 SD method agreed best with manual thresholding (10.9% vs. 12.2%), while for dark-blood LGE the 5 SD method agreed best (13.2% vs. 11.5%). Semi-automated LGE quantification using dark-blood LGE images is feasible in both patients with ischemic and non-ischemic scar patterns. Given the advantage in detecting scar in patients with ischemic heart disease and no disadvantage in patients with non-ischemic scar, dark-blood LGE can be readily and widely adopted into clinical practice without compromising on quantification.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Rigid motion-corrected magnetic resonance fingerprinting
    (2019) Cruz, G.; Jaubert, O.; Schneider, T.; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Single breath-hold assessment of cardiac function using an accelerated 3D single breath-hold acquisition technique - comparison of an intravascular and extravascular contrast agent
    (2012) Makowski, Marcus R.; Wiethoff, Andrea J.; Jansen, Christian H.; Uribe Arancibia, Sergio A.; Parish, Victoria.; Schuster, Andreas.; Botnar, René Michael; Bell, Aaron.; Kiesewetter, Christoph.; Razavi, Reza.; Schaeffter, Tobias.; Greil, Gerald F.
    Abstract Background Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is the current gold standard for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) function. Repeated breath-holds are needed for standard multi-slice 2D cine steady-state free precession sequences (M2D-SSFP). Accelerated single breath-hold techniques suffer from low contrast between blood pool and myocardium. In this study an intravascular contrast agent was prospectively compared to an extravascular contrast agent for the assessment of LV function using a single-breath-hold 3D-whole-heart cine SSFP sequence (3D-SSFP). Methods LV function was assessed in fourteen patients on a 1.5 T MR-scanner (Philips Healthcare) using 32-channel coil technology. Patients were investigated twice using a 3D-SSFP sequence (acquisition time 18–25 s) after Gadopentetate dimeglumine (GdD, day 1) and Gadofosveset trisodium (GdT, day 2) administration. Image acquisition was accelerated using sensitivity encoding in both phase encoding directions (4xSENSE). CNR and BMC were both measured between blood and myocardium. The CNR incorporated noise measurements, while the BMC represented the coeffiancy between the signal from blood and myocardium [1]. Contrast to noise ratio (CNR), blood to myocardium contrast (BMC), image quality, LV functional parameters and intra-/interobserver variability were compared. A M2D-SSFP sequence was used as a reference standard on both days. Results All 3D-SSFP sequences were successfully acquired within one breath-hold after GdD and GdT administration. CNR and BMC were significantly (p < 0.05) higher using GdT compared to GdD, resulting in an improved endocardial definition. Using 3D-SSFP with GdT, Bland–Altman plots showed a smaller bias (95% confidence interval LVEF: 9.0 vs. 23.7) and regression analysis showed a stronger correlation to the reference standard (R2 = 0.92 vs. R2 = 0.71), compared to 3D-SSFP with GdD. Conclusions A single-breath-hold 3D-whole-heart cine SSFP sequence in combination with 32-channel technology and an intravascular contrast agent allows for the accurate and fast assessment of LV function. Trial registration The study was approved by the local research ethics committee (Study No. 07/Q0704/2) and was registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA Study No. 28482/0002/001–0001, EudraCTnumber 2006–007042).