Assessment of regional differences in myocardial blood flow using T-2-weighted 3D BOLD imaging

The feasibility of detecting regional differences in myocardial blood flow based on the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) effect was evaluated in vi vo in dogs (N = 9) using a 3D T-2-prepared segmented gradient-echo sequence at 1.5 T. Regional differences in myocardial blood flow were created by ad ministering adenosine through a catheter placed in the left circumflex coro nary artery (LOX). The difference in the R-2 (1/T-2) relaxation rate betwee n the left ventricular myocardial region supplied by the LCX and regions su pplied by the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) or septal arte ry during adenosine administration was correlated to the corresponding regi onal myocardial blood flow difference determined using fluorescent microsph eres. A correlation coefficient of 0.80 was found between the MR BOLD measu rements and the myocardial flow assessment. Our results show that the seque nce used in this study allows fast 3D BOLD imaging of the heart, and is a p romising technique for detecting regional myocardial perfusion differences. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.