Effects of respiratory motion on coronary wall MR imaging: a quantitative study of older adults

The aim of the present study is to assess the effects of respiratory motion on the image quality of two-dimensional (2D), free-breathing, black-blood coronary wall magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. This study was compliance with the HIPPA. With the approval of the institution review board, 230 asymptomatic participants, including 164 male patients (72.9 ± 4.4 years) and 66 female patients (72.4 ± 5.1 years), were recruited. Written informed consent was obtained. A 2D navigator (NAV)-gated, black-blood coronary wall MR imaging sequence was run on the left main artery, the left anterior descending artery and the right coronary artery. The drift of the location of the NAV and scan efficiency were compared between good (scored 2 or 3) and poor images (scored 1). Age, body weight, body weight index, heart rate, length of the rest period of cardiac motion, diaphragm excursion and breathing frequency were compared using a t test between the “successful” (having 2 or 3 good images) and “unsuccessful” cases (having 1 or 0 good images). A logistic regression model was applied to identify the contributors to good image quality. The drift of the NAV location and the scan efficiency were higher in the 411 good images compared with the 279 poor images. Minimal drift of the NAV location and low body weight were identified as independent predictors of good images after using a logistic regression model to adjust for multiple physiological and technical factors. The stability of respiratory motion significantly influences the image quality of 2D, free-breathing, black-blood coronary wall MR imaging.