Hybrid PET/MR imaging of the heart: Potential, initial experiences, and future prospects

Christoph Rischpler, Stephan G. Nekolla, Isabel Dregely, Markus Schwaiger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

140 Scopus citations

Abstract

PET/CT and other combined scanners have in the past decade rapidly emerged as important research tools and are proving to be invaluable for improved diagnostics in routine nuclear medicine. The design of hybrid PET/MR scanners presented a formidable technical challenge, and only recently were these instruments introduced to the market. Initial expectations of the performance of these scanners have been high, notably because of the potential for superior tissue contrast inherent in the MR modality, as well as the potential for multiparametric functional imaging in conjunction with PET. However, the additional value and potential clinical role that these new systems might bring to the cardiac field have yet to be documented. This review presents a comparative summary of the existing applications for PET and MR in the field of cardiology and suggests potential cardiac applications exploiting unique properties of the newly introduced combined instrumentation. COPYRIGHT

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)402-415
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Nuclear Medicine
Volume54
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2013

Keywords

  • Cardiology
  • Hybrid imaging
  • MR
  • PET

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