Early use of contrast in cardiac magnetic resonance.

a I A e s t c c c h c p a v a m c c w w c c 1 f t n t r s m p q i n a a omputed tomography (CT) was developed or medical diagnosis more than a decade efore the introduction of magnetic resonance MR) imaging. Contrast media for CT and R imaging have identical tissue distribution nd plasma kinetics. So the story of the early istory of contrast media for cardiac magnetic esonance (CMR) actually starts with early xperimental work with iodinated contrast meia and prototype cardiac CT scanners in the 970s. CT and MR imaging were rapidly accepted o diagnose diseases of the brain and spine. ndeed, within a few years after their introducion, these tomographic imaging techniques ad already revolutionized precision in diagnois of neurologic diseases. On the other hand, idespread adoption of these techniques for ardiac diagnosis has required about 25 years. ome of this delay in clinical application was elated to delays in technologic advances necssary for overcoming the motion of breathing nd cardiac contraction. Additionally, there as a prevailing perception in the 1970s and 980s that echocardiography and nuclear imging provided most information required from oninvasive cardiac imaging. The promise of issue characterization using CT and, espeially, MR imaging was considered either unmportant for clinical cardiology or practically nattainable. In 1977 to 1978, our research group at the niversity of California, San Diego, was