Single breath-hold volumetric imaging of the heart using magnetization-prepared 3-dimensional segmented echo planar imaging.

We show the feasibility of single breath-hold volumetric imaging of the heart using a three-dimensional (3D) segmented echo planar imaging (EPI) pulse sequence. Fifteen healthy subjects were evaluated using three magnetization preparation schemes: (a) a driven equilibrium T2-weighted preparation for bright blood and dark myocardium; (b) a STEAM magnetization preparation for dark blood; and (c) fat suppression for coronary artery imaging. An interleaved EPI trajectory encoding six echoes per interleave with a 1090 Hz/pixel readout bandwidth was used to collect a 126 x 256 matrix in 22 heartbeats with data acquisition windows per cardiac cycle of 71-285 msec for 8-32 sections. Multiplanar reconstructions could be used if thin (1-3 mm) sections were acquired. Breath-hold volumetric imaging with 3D segmented EPI holds promise for rapid volumetric evaluation of cardiac anatomy.