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• Clinical Article •
Application of multiphase free-breathing real-time cine imaging in cardiac magnetic resonance for left ventricular function assessment
JIN Yuqin  HUANG Yong  LIU Xiaoshan  YIN Xunhao  ZHANG Kexin  CHI Guoliang 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.016.


[Abstract] Objective To explore the value of multiphase real-time free-breathing cine imaging in cardiac function assessment compared with standard breath-hold cardiac cine MRI, thereby expanding the clinical applicability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cardiac function evaluation.Materials and Methods Cardiac cine images were acquired from 42 healthy volunteers using a 3.0 T MRI system with both a multiphase real-time free-breathing cine sequence and a standard breath-hold cine sequence. A self-developed algorithm based on the signal intensity ratio between myocardium and blood pool was applied to rearrange the multiphase myocardial images into diastolic and systolic phases. Left ventricular functional parameters, including end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV), and myocardial mass (MASS), were quantified. Consistency and differences between the two methods were statistically compared.Results Real-time free-breathing cine images exhibited lower signal contrast between myocardium and blood pool compared to standard breath-hold imaging, yet remained sufficient for ventricular functional analysis. Multiphase cine data (120 phases) were successfully sorted, classified, and processed automatically to calculate cardiac functional parameters by tracking signal variations throughout the cardiac cycle. There was no statistically significant difference between the two methods in terms of cardiac function indicators such as EDV, ESV, EF, and MASS (P > 0.05), while the difference in SV was statistically significant (P < 0.05). All parameters demonstrated high consistency via correlation analysis with correlation coefficients 0.968 (EDV), 0.927 (ESV), 0.954 (SV), 0.942 (EF), and 0.953 (MASS) respectively (P < 0.001).Conclusions Real-time cine imaging under free-breathing conditions, performed without the need for breath-holding or electrocardiographic gating, significantly improves the applicability of cardiac magnetic resonance function assessment in patients unable to comply with breathing instructions. The newly developed data processing method ensures accurate evaluation of left ventricular function, offering a reliable alternative for clinical scenarios such as heart failure or cases where breath-hold compliance is unfeasible.
[Keywords] magnetic resonance imaging；ventricular function assessment；multiphase real-time free-breathing cine imaging；cardiac magnetic resonance cine；image data classification method

JIN Yuqin1   HUANG Yong1*   LIU Xiaoshan1   YIN Xunhao1   ZHANG Kexin1   CHI Guoliang2  

1 Department of Radiology, Shandong First Medical University Affiliated Tumor Hospital (Shandong Provincial Tumor Hospital), Jinan 250117, China

2 School of Radiology, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian 271016, China

Corresponding author: HUANG Y, E-mail: huangyong1970888@sina.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-08-09
Accepted  2025-10-26
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.016
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.016.

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