Development and Optimization of a Multiple Slice Cardiac Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI Method for Monitoring Perfusion within Infarcted Tissue

Each year approximately two out of every 1,000 Canadians experiences a heart attack. These patients are at increased risk for heart failure, a serious condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. Heart inflammation that lasts too long following a heart attack may increase the risk of heart failure. The development of an imaging method to monitor this inflammation will help scientists develop and apply therapies. Dr. Prato and colleagues have been developing such a method using an imaging machine that combines Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET-MRI). At present the MRI part of the method only covers a small section of the heart making it difficult to study all injured tissue. This proposal will develop methods to extend this MRI coverage. The method will be tested in phantoms and in a well-established canine model of heart attack.

Faculty Supervisor:

Neil Gelman

Student:

Adam Farag

Partner:

Multi Magnetics Inc.

Discipline:

Medicine

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Western University