Effect of Gd‐DTPA‐BMA on magnetization transfer: Application to rapid imaging of cardiac ischemia

The addition of a paramagnetic contrast agent reduces the magnetization transfer effect between the free and restricted proton pools in both agar phantoms and cardiac muscle tissue. This reduction is due to the reduction in the intrinsic T1 of the free proton pool and increases the signal observed after a given magnetization transfer sequence. Images of ex vivo piglet hearts were obtained with a segmented snapshot FLASH (fast low-angle shot) sequence with a 128 x 128 matrix, four segments, and two signals averaged, resulting in an imaging time of 7 seconds. Magnetization transfer was induced by applying a DANTE (delays alternating with nutations for tailored excitations) pulse sequence in the intersegment interval. This was an efficient method of inducing magnetization transfer because it excites the restricted proton pool across the full frequency spectrum. Ischemia due to occlusion of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery could be visualized after infusion of gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-bis(methylamide) (DTPA-BMA). Although the ischemia could be seen with the basic sequence, the contrast between ischemic and non-ischemic tissue improved when the magnetization transfer sequence was included. The most marked improvements in magnetization transfer were achieved with low doses of Gd-DTPA-BMA.