An international team led by scientists from Lawson Health Research Institute and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are the first to show that Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can be used to measure how the heart uses oxygen for both healthy patients and those with heart disease.
Reduced blood flow to the heart muscle is the leading cause of death in the Western world. Currently, the diagnostic tests available to measure blood flow to the heart require injection of radioactive chemicals or contrast agents that change the MRI signal and detect the presence of disease. There are small but finite associated risks and it is not recommended for a variety of patients including those with poor kidney function. More than 500,000 tests are performed each year in Canada.
“This new method, cardiac functional MRI (cfMRI), does not require needles or chemicals being injected into the body,” says Dr. Frank Prato, Lawson Assistant Director for Imaging. “It eliminates the existing risks and can be used on all patients.”
The team included researchers from Lawson; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of California; King’s College in the United Kingdom; University Health Network and the University of Toronto; Siemens Healthineers; and, University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.
Read more at Lawson Health Research Institute
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