Feasibility of MR-thermometry with blood suppression on the human heart at 3T

Introduction Ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation can be treated in a minimally invasive fashion with localized catheter radio-frequency ablation of the myocardium [1]. For cardiac ablation, PRFS-based MR thermometry [2] may provide intra-procedural feedback, helping with the determination of the therapy endpoint and to avoid damage to adjacent vital structures such as the esophagus. However, MR thermometry of the heart is challenging due to the continuous contraction and respiratory movement. In addition, blood suppression is preferable to avoid artifacts in the myocardium and may improve the robustness of motion correction algorithms. In this work, we explore three options for blood suppression, namely double inversion recovery (DIR), motion-sensitized driven equilibrium (MSDE) [3], and inflow saturation (IS). The effectiveness of the blood suppression and its effect on the temperature stability in the septum is evaluated in eight healthy volunteers over a period of 50s of free-breathing using VCG cardiac triggering and navigator respiratory compensation.