Black blood delayed enhancement magnetic resonance imaging

Technnology

Duke University is seeking a corporate partners to commercialize a method of improved detection of infarcted heart tissue. The technology provides a dark blood delayed enhancement technique that improves the visualization of subendocardial infarcts that may otherwise be disguised by the bright blood pool. The timed combination of a slice-selective and a non-selective preparation improves the infarct/blood contrast by decoupling their relaxation curves thereby nulling both the blood and the non-infarcted myocardium. This causes the infarct to be imaged bright and the blood and non-infarct to both be imaged dark. While currently used methods are sufficient for many patients, this technology can be used to improve imaging in patients with small difficult-to-detect subendocardial infarcts.