Cardiac imaging at 7.0 T: comparison of pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram triggered 2D-CINE for LV-function assessment

One important development which is looming on the (pre)clinical research horizon is the move towards CMR at 7.0 T [ 1 ]. At (ultra)highfields, the sensitivity of ECG recordings to interference from electromagnetic fields and to magneto-hydrodynamic effects increases and with it the ECG failure rate together with the motivation for a robust, practical gating/triggering alternative. Realizing the constraints of conventional ECG, an MR-stethoscope has been proposed to meet the demands of cardiac triggered MRI [ 2 ].