Quantification, speed and new applications in the field of cardiovascular MRI are the highlights of this issue. CMR is becoming fully quantitative, as evidenced by the rapid development of mapping techniques quantifying T1 and T2 relaxation and allowing the calculation of extracellular volume. Several cases in this issue demonstrate its clinical value. The increase in speed is due to faster and more patient friendly navigator sequences and to developments in parallel imaging. The greater speed allows transferring imaging methods to the heart, which were previously reserved for non-moving structures e.g. DTI. Novel sequences utilize contrast better than previous methods, as highlighted by the articles on QISS MRA.
Guest editor's article
"The Future of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance" by guest editor Eike Nagel, M.D., Ph.D. (Director of the Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging, DZHK Centre for Cardiovascular Imaging, Head of Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular Imaging, University Hospital Frankfurt/Main, Germany)
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