Role of free-breathing motion-corrected late gadolinium enhancement technique for image quality assessment and LGE quantification.

Abstract Objective To compare the image quality and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) quantification between free-breathing motion-corrected and conventional breath-hold LGE method in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Materials and Methods 149 consecutive patients underwent contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance examination employing both free-breathing motion-corrected LGE and conventional breath-hold LGE method. Scan time, contrast-to-noise ratio, overall image quality score and LGE mass were measured and analyzed statistically. Results Free-breathing motion-corrected LGE method had a shorter scan time and higher overall image quality score in comparison with conventional breath-hold LGE method (p  Conclusion Free-breathing motion-corrected LGE could be a better choice for patients who need contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI and have one or more of the risk factors for an inferior image quality score, including breath-holding difficulty, high heart rate and arrhythmia. However, an overestimation of LGE mass on free-breathing motion-corrected LGE image should be taken into consideration when LGE pattern involves subepicardial and/or transmural myocardium.