Balanced steady-state free precession vs. segmented fast low-angle shot for the evaluation of ventricular volumes, mass, and function at 3 Tesla

Purpose: To compare balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) and segmented fast low angle shot (FLASH) for quantification of left and right ventricular volumes and function and for left ventricular mass at high field (3 Tesla). Materials and Methods: A total of 33 patients (19 male, mean age 54 years) with various forms of heart disease underwent ventricular function studies using cine SSFP and FLASH sequences with identical slice orientations. Results: Using SSFP, left ventricular end-diastolic (+ 10 mL [4.7%], P < 0.001) and end-systolic volumes (+9 mL [6. 1%] , P < 0.001) measured larger whereas mass was considerably smaller (-23 g [-12.9%], P < 0.001) and ejection fraction (-1% [-3.2%], P < 0.01) marginally smaller. Right ventricular end-diastolic (+4 mL [2.6%], P = 0.001) and end-systolic volumes (+4 mL [5.1%], P < 0.01) were also larger, but no significant difference for right ventricular ejection fraction (P = 0.05) was found. Conclusion: Similar to previous results at 1.5 Tesla, at high magnetic field the cine SSFP technique led to discrete but significantly higher ventricular volume measurements and to a significantly smaller measurement of left ventricular mass in patients. The effect on left and right ventricular ejection fraction was minor, although the difference remained significant for the left ventricle.