Reproducibility of manual and semi-automated late enhancement quantification in patients with Fabry disease.

BackgroundLate enhancement (LE) imaging is increasingly used for diagnosis of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. However, the mostly patchy appearance of LE in this context may reduce the reproducibility of LE measurement.PurposeTo report intra- and inter-observer variabilities of LE measurements in Fabry disease using manual and semi-automated quantification.Material and MethodsTwenty MRI data-sets of male patients aged 44 ± 7 years were analyzed twice (interval 12 months) by one observer and additionally once by a second observer. Left ventricular (LV) parameters were determined using cine MRI. Gradient-echo LE images were analyzed by manual planimetry and by a semi-automatic prototype software. Variabilities were determined by Bland-Altman analyses and additionally intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) values were calculated to survey intra- and inter-observer reproducibility.ResultsThe amount of LE was 5.2 ± 5.1 mL or 2.8 ± 2.6 % of LV mass (observer 2). LE was detected predominantly intramurally in a p...