Specialized Mapping Methods in the Heart

Abstract Magnetic resonance imaging has shown exceptional potential to measure physical properties of tissues, such as T1 and T2 relaxation times, diffusion, perfusion, and many others. Over the last 10 years, efforts have been made to measure these parameters in the heart, where cardiac and respiratory motion must be considered. This chapter will focus on specialized methods that have been developed for cardiac relaxometry, considering T1, T2, T 2 * , and extracellular volume. The chapter will cover the main methods that are now established in clinical practice, as well as state-of-the-art developments in both single- and multiparametric cardiac mapping.