Reproducibility study of left ventricular measurements with breath-hold cine MRI using a semiautomated volumetric image analysis program.

The reproducibility of a semiautomated method of volumetric analysis allowing estimates of left ventricular (LV) parameters in approximately 5 minutes of analysis time is reported. Twenty normal volunteers underwent cine breath-hold cardiac MRI on two occasions with two observers using this new semiautomated method to estimate LV parameters. Reproducibility of this technique was comparable to published data with a variability of less than approximately 10% for all LV parameters calculated. Using this technique, the 95% confidence limits for change for left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV) = +/-15 ml, left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV) = +/-8 ml, LV mass = +/-24 g, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) = +/-6%. This new method also compared favorably to established manual methods. This new method permits estimation of LV parameters with acceptable reproducibility in a time that may permit routine quantitation of cardiac MR studies.