Prebolus quantitative MR heart perfusion imaging.

The purpose of this study was to present the prebolus technique for quantitative multislice myocardial perfusion imaging. In quantitative MR perfusion studies the maximum contrast agent dose is limited by the requirement to determine the arterial input function (AIF). The prebolus technique consists of two consecutive contrast agent administrations. The AIF is determined from a first low-dose bolus, while a second, high-dose bolus allows the measurement of the myocardium with improved signal increase. The results of the prebolus technique using a multislice saturation recovery trueFISP sequence in healthy volunteers are presented. In comparison to a standard dose of 3 ml Gd-DTPA, perfusion values are maintained while the signal increase in the concentration time courses was considerably improved, accompanied by reduced standard deviations of the obtained perfusion values (0.72 +/- 0.13 ml/g/min for 1 ml/8 ml and 0.67 +/- 0.10 ml/g/min for 1 ml/12 ml Gd-DTPA, respectively).