Intertechnique agreement and interstudy reproducibility of strain and diastolic strain rate at 1.5 and 3 tesla: A comparison of feature-tracking and tagging in patients with aortic stenosis

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 41; no. 4; pp. 1129 - 1137
• Main Authors: Singh, Anvesha, Steadman, Christopher D., Khan, Jamal N., Horsfield, Mark A., Bekele, Soliana, Nazir, Sheraz A., Kanagala, Prathap, Masca, Nicholas G.D., Clarysse, Patrick, McCann, Gerry P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-04-2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Aged; Algorithms; aortic stenosis; Aortic Valve Stenosis - complications; Aortic Valve Stenosis - pathology; Aortic Valve Stenosis - physiopathology; Bioengineering; Cardiac MRI; Diastole; Elastic Modulus; Elasticity Imaging Techniques - methods; Engineering Sciences; feature tracking; Female; Humans; Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Imaging; Life Sciences; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine - methods; Male; Observer Variation; Pattern Recognition, Automated - methods; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Shear Strength; Signal and Image processing; Stress, Mechanical; Stroke Volume; tagging; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left - etiology; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left - pathology; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left - physiopathology; feature tracking; tagging; aortic stenosis; Cardiac MRI
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.24625

Purpose
To determine the interstudy reproducibility of myocardial strain and peak early‐diastolic strain rate (PEDSR) measurement on cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessed with feature tracking (FT) and tagging, in patients with aortic stenosis (AS).
Materials and Methods
Cardiac MRI was performed twice (1–14 days apart) in 18 patients (8 at 1.5 Tesla [T], 10 at 3T) with moderate–severe AS. Circumferential peak systolic strain (PSS) and PEDSR were measured in all patients. Longitudinal PSS and PEDSR were assessed using FT in all patients, and tagging in the 3T sub‐group.
Results
PSS was higher with FT than tagging (21.0 ± 1.9% versus 17.0 ± 3.4% at 1.5T, 21.4 ± 4.0% versus 17.7 ± 3.0% at 3T, P < 0.05), as was PEDSR (1.3 ± 0.3 s−1 versus 1.0 ± 0.3 s−1, P = 0.10 at 1.5T and 1.3 ± 0.4 s−1 versus 0.8 ± 0.3 s−1, P < 0.05 at 3T). The reproducibility of PSS was excellent with FT (coefficient of variation [CoV] 9–10%) and good with tagging at 1.5T (13–19%). Reproducibility of circumferential PEDSR was best at 1.5T when only basal/mid slices were included (CoV 12%), but moderate to poor at 3T (29–35%). Reproducibility of longitudinal strain was good with FT (10–16%) but moderate for PEDSR (∼30%).
Conclusion
In patients with AS, FT consistently produces higher values compared with tagging. The interstudy reproducibility of PSS is excellent with FT and good with tagging. The reproducibility of circumferential PEDSR at 1.5T is good when only basal and mid slices are used. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;41:1129–1137. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.