Rapid Fire Session

Session: Rapid Fire Session 5: Tissue Characterization, Mapping, Standardization (Monitor 7)

Reproducibility and Agreement of Three T1-Mapping Sequences for Myocardial Characterization at 3T in Healthy Volunteers

Saturday, February 7, 2026

10:36 AM - 10:43 AM

Location: Galapagos / Aruba / Ilhabela (2nd Lower Level)

Presenting Author(s)

Tilman Emrich, MD, FSCMR

Attending
University Medical Center Mainz
Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Primary Author(s)

Tilman Emrich, MD, FSCMR

Attending
University Medical Center Mainz
Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Co-Author(s)

Km

Katharina mader, MD

Physician
University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
AK

Anton Kilburg, MD

Radiologist
University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Moritz C. Halfmann, MD

Radiology Resident
University Medical Center Mainz
Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
AV

Akos Varga-Szemes, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Radiology
Medical University of South Carolina, United States

Background: Myocardial T1 relaxation times derived from T1 mapping are a quantitative marker for myocardial fibrosis and edema. However, differences across T1-mapping sequences may impact reproducibility and comparability, limiting clinical translation.

Methods: Seventy healthy volunteers (mean age 29 ± 8 years, 51% male) underwent 3T CMR with native and post-contrast T1 mapping in three short-axis slices. Three MOLLI-based sequences (standard, PF5, PF6) were acquired. Global and segmental T1 values and ECV were calculated using dedicated software. Reproducibility was assessed by intra- and inter-observer intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Agreement between sequences was analyzed using Pearson correlation and Bland–Altman statistics. Artifact prevalence was recorded.

Results: Native myocardial T1 values differed significantly between sequences: 1164.6 ± 28.0 ms (standard), 1076.1 ± 25.6 ms (PF6), and 1093.9 ± 33.8 ms (PF5). Correlations between sequences were moderate (r = 0.49–0.65), with limited agreement (ICC 0.42–0.65). Reproducibility was strong (intra-observer ICC up to 0.89). Artifact prevalence was lowest for the standard sequence (7.6% of segments) compared with PF6 (11.8%) and PF5 (13.1%).

Conclusion: T1 mapping and ECV quantification at 3T are feasible and reproducible in healthy volunteers, but systematic sequence-dependent differences exist. These findings underscore the need for harmonization and standardization to enable reliable inter-study and inter-center comparability of myocardial tissue characterization.