Comparison of Sensitivity and Specificity of T2 and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Mapping in the Diagnosis of Cardiac Ischemia

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging by using new quantitative mapping techniques such as T2 and ADC mapping, is a new approach to detect ischemia and myocardial edema. In this study, the sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic utility of ADC maps in diffusion imaging compared to T2 maps in the diagnosis of cardiac ischemia were investigated and compared.

This is a cross- sectional study that was conducted at Shiraz Peyvand Hospital using 3-Tesla MRI from February 2020 to March 2022 on 60 patients with cardiac ischemia an average of five days after the infarct. For this, images of T2 and ADC maps of the myocardium were obtained and compared. Cine images were used to check the function of the left ventricle, and the infarcted area of the myocardium was defined based on the Late Gadolinium Enhancement images.

In the analysis that was done with the segmentation of the left ventricle, the sensitivity and specificity of T2 maps were reported as 84% and 95%, and the sensitivity and specificity of ADC maps were reported as 88% and 97%, respectively.

Based on the evaluations, ADC maps showed higher sensitivity and specificity than T2 maps that are commonly used in the clinic, so their use is recommended to investigate ischemia in cardiac patients.