Oxygenation-sensitive cardiovascular magnetic resonance

Oxygenation-sensitive cardiovascular magnetic resonance (cmr) is a non-contrast technique that allows the non-invasive assessment of myocardial oxygenation. it capitalizes on the fact that deoxygenated hemoglobin in blood can act as an intrinsic contrast agent,changing proton signals in a fashion that can be imaged to reflect the level of blood oxygenation. increases in o2 saturation increase the bold imaging signal (t2 or t2*),whereas decreases diminish it. this review presents the basic concepts and limitations of the bold technique,and summarizes the preclinical and clinical studies in the assessment of myocardial oxygenation with a focus on recent advances. finally,it provides future directions and a brief look at emerging techniques of this evolving cmr field. © 2013 friedrich and karamitsos; licensee biomed central ltd.