COMMITTEE
John N. Oshinski, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech and Emory University) – Thesis Adviser
Xiaoping Hu, Ph.D. (Emory University)
David Ku, M.D, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)
Michael Lloyd, M.D. (Emory University)
Orlando Simonetti , Ph.D. (Ohio State University)

As the term cardiovascular implies, there is an important physiological relationship between the blood vessels and the cardiac chambers. In certain disease conditions, there is a clinical need to be able to simultaneously visualize both the tissue of the cardiac chambers and adjacent vessels. We aim to develop, validate, and implement a Magnetic Resonance (MR) sequence which will acquire both angiographic anatomy and myocardial scar within the same scan. We plan to use a slow infusion of gadolinium combined with a centric-ordered k-space acquisition for an angiogram. Central k-space will then be re-acquired at the end of the sequence (~10 min after injection) and used for a second reconstruction. The first reconstructed image uses initial central k-space and highlights vessel contrast; the second reconstructed image uses the later central k-space values and shows late gadolinium-enhanced (LGE) scar. This sequence will be validated using a 3D phantom and then tested on two patient groups: (1) patients undergoing Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT), to image coronary vein anatomy and myocardial scar to allow physicians to prospectively plan lead placement, and (2) patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) who have undergone Pulmonary Vein Isolation, to use LGE to evaluate procedural success and evaluate chance of recurrence.