Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CMRI)
Children’s Hospital of New Jersey is one of only a handful of pediatric cardiac centers experienced in the application of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI).
While this advanced modality has been use for adults for many years, CMRI is emerging as a highly accurate and safe method for obtaining a detailed assessment of both the heart structure and function in infants and children with congenital heart malformations.
This advanced technology has important applications in diagnostic testing, pre-operative planning, as well as post-operative evaluation and follow-up. It provides our pediatric cardiologists and pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons with the most complete and highest resolution images of the heart and blood vessels.
Benefits of CMRI in Pediatric Patients
- This non-invasive imaging modality means requires no incision or catheter. Young patients who are able to remain still throughout the test do not require sedation.
- CMRI provides 3-D view of the heart and blood vessels from many angles that can not be seen with any other imaging technique.
- CMRI provides physicians with visualization of cardiac function including complete anatomy and blood flow through the heart.
- The resulting high-resolution images of the heart’s anatomy assist cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons in planning optimum surgical procedures that can greatly improve long-term success.
Experienced Team
The expertise of several specialists is combined to perform and interpret CMRI. The experienced team includes a pediatric cardiologists and pediatric cardiac imaging specialist and specially trained CMRI technologists who are sensitive the needs of infants and children. If sedation is required, a pediatric cardiovascular anesthesiologist monitors the patient throughout the study.
Common indications for CMRI
- Tetralogy of fallot
- Abnormal pulmonary arteries
- Interrupted aortic arch
- Coarctation of the aorta
- Double aortic arch
- Sickle cell disease and thalassemia
- Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome and other aortopathies
- Anomalies of pulmonary venous connection
- Anomalies of systemic venous connection
- Evaluation of non-compaction cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
