Multi slice DENSE in a single breath hold

Displacement ENcoding with Stimulated Echoes (DENSE) is a method to acquire displacement maps of the myocardial motion. This can in turn be used to estimate strain which is an important measure of myocardial function. Previously, DENSE imaging has primarily been performed using multiple breath holds per slice, severely limiting its incorporation into the tight schedule of clinical routine. Strain maps are further desired throughout the left ventricle, not only in a single slice. A targeted approach, guided by results from perfusion and late enhancement studies is tempting, but the presence of contrast agent shortens the T1 relaxation, which hampers stimulated echo acquisitions such as DENSE. We therefore propose a multi slice acquisition for strain measurements in a single breath hold. We compare this with conventional single slice DENSE acquired in separate breath holds.