Cardiac T1 Mapping Correction Using T2 Maps for Early Remodeling Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic methods for heart failure are invasive, costly, and unable to detect early myocardial remodelling processes, limiting personalized treatment and monitoring of heart disease progression.
Innovation Solution
A non-invasive method using T1 and T2 mapping with MRI to correct T1 maps for T2 effects, combined with a novel color mapping technique for accurate diagnosis and prediction of cardiac events, and a system for annotating cardiac coordinates for standardized comparison.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If myocardial biopsy is performed for histological examination, then diagnostic accuracy for myocardial inflammation is improved, but invasiveness and procedural risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical invasive biopsy procedure with a non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based quantitative tissue characterization method. Specifically, it uses T1 and T2 mapping techniques to measure myocardial tissue properties, thereby substituting the mechanical needle biopsy system with a magnetic field-based imaging system that eliminates procedural risks while maintaining diagnostic capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces quantitative T1 and T2 mapping parameters as intermediary measurements between the MRI system and the diagnostic conclusion. These mapping parameters serve as mediators that translate complex tissue characteristics into quantifiable metrics, enabling non-invasive detection of myocardial inflammation and remodelling without direct tissue sampling.
2Ease of operation
If echocardiography is used to assess heart function, then non-invasive monitoring is achieved, but early myocardial remodelling processes cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the measurement parameters from conventional echocardiographic structural and functional parameters to quantitative tissue characterization parameters (T1 and T2 mapping values). This parameter transformation enables the detection of early myocardial remodelling processes by measuring tissue composition changes at the molecular level, significantly improving detection sensitivity while maintaining non-invasive operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the echocardiography ultrasonic wave system with an MRI magnetic resonance system. This substitution enables access to deeper tissue characterization capabilities through quantitative mapping techniques, allowing detection of early myocardial changes that are beyond the resolution of conventional echocardiographic methods.
3Measurement precision
If T1 mapping is performed to characterize myocardial tissue, then tissue composition information is obtained, but T2 effects contaminate the T1 measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates the T2 effect component from the T1 measurement through a dedicated T2 mapping sequence. By acquiring T2 values independently and then removing their contribution from the T1 measurements, the method isolates the pure T1 tissue characterization information, eliminating contamination while preserving the benefits of quantitative tissue analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the tissue characterization process into distinct T1 and T2 mapping components. Instead of attempting to measure all tissue properties simultaneously, it divides the measurement into separate sequences that can be independently optimized and then integrated, allowing T2 effects to be identified and removed from T1 measurements for cleaner tissue characterization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables early detection of myocardial remodelling, improves diagnostic accuracy, and allows personalized treatment strategies by providing quantitative imaging and risk assessment for heart failure.
Implementation Method 1
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a non-invasive approach to evaluate tissue characteristics using a strong magnetic field and by its manipulation using magnetic gradient and radio waves to generate images
Implementation Method 2
Myocardial magnetic relaxation mapping techniques measure the rate of magnetic field recovery into its original position, after its displacement using a magnetic field preparation prepulse
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for non-invasive quantitative imaging of a heart, the method comprising:obtaining an initial T1 map and a T2 map of the heart, andcorrecting the initial T1 map using the T2 map in order to obtain a corrected T1 map, wherein the correcting the initial T1 map comprises subtracting from a value in the initial T1 map a weighted value of the T2 map and adding a constant. The present invention also provides further methods and devices for non-invasive quantitative imaging of the heart.