Functionality, Utility, and Future Applications of Myocardial Parametric Mapping
June 8, 2022
Published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging in January 2022, a new review article for pediatric cardiologists and radiologists explores the characteristics, applications, and challenges in using myocardial parametric mapping as a clinical tool in pediatric cardiology.
Heart Institute at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, cardiovascular imaging specialist Tarek Alsaied, MD, MSc, was the senior author of the review. Also contributing to the review from UPMC Children’s was Adam B. Christopher, MD, director of cardiac MRI and CT at UPMC Children’s, and Laura J. Olivieri, MD, who recently joined the Heart Institute as the new director of noninvasive cardiac imaging.
Myocardial parametric mapping using cardiac MRI presents clinicians with a volumetric pixel-by-pixel characterization of the magnetic relaxation parameters of the myocardium. This imaging approach can provide a more detailed and quantifiable assessment of diffuse fibrosis within myocardial tissues, information that can be used in the diagnostic and monitoring settings for a range of pediatric heart patients. Parametric mapping is noninvasive and can avoid the use or need for contrast.
"This review paper should be helpful for pediatric cardiologists or imaging specialists interested in using tissue characterization by cardiac MRI in pediatric patients and need to learn more about the processes involved," says Dr. Alsaied. "We believe this noninvasive imaging technique, because of its power, will become a more routine tool for pediatric cardiologists to assess treatment efficacy, and particularly for those monitoring congenital heart disease patients over long periods."
Reference
Rao S, Tseng SY, Pednekar A, Siddiqui S, Kocaoglu M, Fares M, Lang SM, Kutty S, Christopher AB, Olivieri LJ, Taylor MD, Alsaied T. Myocardial Parametric Mapping by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2022 Jan; 15(1): e012242. Review.
