MRI techniques for cardiovascular imaging

Over the last several years, cardiovascular MRI has benefited from a number of technical advances which have improved routine clinical imaging techniq ues. As a result, MRI. is now well positioned to realize its longstanding p romise of becoming the comprehensive cardiac imaging test of choice in many clinical settings, This may be achieved using a combination of basic advan ced techniques. In this overview, the basic cardiac MRI techniques which ar e clinically useful are reviewed, and the recent technical advances which a re clinically promising are described. These advances include routine black blood and cine bright blood techniques that are high speed (<10s per black blood image or cine slice), multislice whole heart perfusion imaging metho ds, and recently emerging realtime imaging methodologies. (C) 1999 Wiley-Li ss, Inc.