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Cardiac MR
Cardiac MR imaging enables physicians to perform real time evaluation of a patient cardiac system and allows doctors to better screen, diagnose and monitor heart disease more accurately. This is accomplished by developing, through the usage of multiple imaging sequences as well as advanced post processing software, a comprehensive picture about the heart global function, regional function and tissue characterization. In the past, healthcare professionals critically relied on conventional diagnostic imaging methods including thorax x-ray, echocardiography, single photon emission tomography (SPECT), and x-ray coronary angiography. Many of these diagnostic tools have been established as a gold standard in the daily clinical routine and have been subject of continuous technical improvements over the past decades. Nevertheless, both the rate and the magnitude of progress that has most recently been made in the field of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are unparalleled. It simultaneously enables quantitative assessment of myocardial function, contractility, viability and blood perfusion and flow in an unparalleled fashion. Most recent advances in MRI research have further shown that this portfolio of diagnostic and quantitative MRI tools is soon to be expanded with the ability to detect asymptomatic coronary atherosclerosis and other diseases of the heart in their earliest stages. Therefore, MRI will have a most significant impact on the management of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the western world. In summary, Cardiac MRI along with advanced post processing software can be used to diagnose and evaluate a number of diseases and conditions, including:
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