Automatic quantification of cardiac scar extent from late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging

Late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-CMRI) is the technique of choice to detect myocardial scars and assess myocardial viability. In clinical practice, this analysis is performed qualitatively or by manually tracing the enhanced area in each acquired slice. The purpose of this study was to test and validate a technique for automated localization and quantification of scar extent. CMRI data in patients with previous myocardial infarction were analyzed using custom software from which the myocardium was automatically identified from steady-state free precession images and registered on LGE-CMRI data. Scar tissue was defined as myocardium with signal intensity ≥80% of its maximum and quantified on each slice. Scar location and extent were assessed and compared with expert analysis. Preliminary results showed that automatic localization of scar from LGE-CMRI is feasible and scar quantification is accurate and reliable.