DE-MRI depicts postablation scar

Delayed-enhancement MRI creates a clear picture of the atrial scarring produced during pulmonary vein RF ablation, according to researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

The study of 22 patients found that T1-weighted DE-MRI performed 15 to 30 minutes after gadolinium injection produced distinct differences in contrast between scarred and unscarred tissue around the circumference of the vein.

Contrast-enhanced MRI has been used for nearly six years for preprocedural assessments of pulmonary vein anatomy and PV stenosis. The addition of high resolution DE-MRI helps interventionists judge the potential effectiveness of RF ablation to inhibit atrial fibrillation, said Dana C. Peters, Ph.D., assistant scientific director of the hospital's cardiac MR center. Future research by Peters and cardiac MR section chief Dr. Warren Manning will assess whether fully circumferential anatomic scarring is required for successful RF ablation.

DE-MRI depicts . . .