The Cardiac for MR/i Software package brings new diagnostic tools to the Signa system for the evaluation of Cardiac Anatomy and Function. These tools when combined with Signa's standard cardiac imaging sequences and iDrivePro allow the physician to image the heart with excellent temporal and spatial resolution using bright blood, black blood and myocardial tagging techniques.

Double IR Long Axis View
Black Blood w/mass

Triple IR Long Axis View Black
Blood/Fat Suppressed w/ fatty mass

Cardiac Valve Visualization

End Diastole :Top Image
End Systole : Bottom Image

Cardiac Tagging with Fast Cine Top: Normal Volunteer Bottom: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Features:
Double and Triple Inversion Recovery

• Black Blood Imaging Technique
• Black Blood Imaging with Fat Suppression
• Uses Fast Spin Echo for Reduced Scan Times
• Excellent for Imaging the Cardiac Anatomy without interference from Blood or Fat
  • Evaluation of Cardiac Mass
  • Fatty infiltration of myocardium
  • Evaluation of Right Ventricular Dysplasia
  • Black Blood Coronary MRA
  • Cardiac Valve Visualization

Fast CINE

• Cardiac Gated Fast Gradient Echo Technique
• Evaluation of the Full Cardiac Cycle (Full R-R Coverage)
• Single Breath-Hold Imaging
• In-phase and Out of Phase Imaging
• Variable View Sharing for scan time control
• Retrospective Image Reconstruction
• User defined number of cardiac phases
• k-space data re-sorted according to temporal position in systole and diastole for reduced temporal blurring
• Bright Blood technique for the evaluation of Cardiac Anatomy through out the Cardiac Cycle

Fast CINE w/Cardiac Tagging

• All of the features of Fast CINE
• RF Tagging of Myocardium using Special SAT Pulses
• Parallel Line or Grid Patterns available
• Tag resolution to 1mm
• Tag lines applied during Diastole and deform during Systole indicating myocardial contraction

Why is Cardiac Imaging Important?

• Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death. This is 1 of every 2.4 deaths or 1 death every 33 seconds.
• Cardiovascular diseases claim as many lives each year as the next eight leading causes of death combined.
  • Cancer, Accidents, HIV(AIDS)…
• One in two women will die of heart disease or stroke;
• One in 25 women will die of breast cancer.

Prerequisites:

• Signa LX System with 8.3 Software

Recommended Options:

• iDrivePro- Real Time Scan Plane Control
  • iDrivePro or Basic iDrive will greatly reduce the time needed to localize key anatomy such as coronary arteries, valve planes and cardiac masses. Finding the optimal short and long axis views of the heart is also very simple and fast with iDrivePro.
    • For more information please review the iDrivePro clinical one pager for more details.
• Cardiac Analysis Package (requires Advantage Windows Workstation)
• Torso Array or Cardiac Phased Array coil