Multi-center investigation of cardiac diffusion tensor imaging in healthy volunteers by the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Cardiac Diffusion Special Interest Group NETwork (SIGNET)
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) is an emerging technique for microstructural characterization of the heart and has shown clinical potential in a range of cardiomyopathies. However, there is substantial variation reported for in vivo cDTI results across the literature, and sensitivity of cDTI to differences in imaging sites, scanners, acquisition protocols, and post-processing methods remains incompletely understood.
Methods
SIGNET is a prospective multi-center, observational study in traveling and non-traveling healthy volunteers. The study was initiated by the executive board of the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) Cardiac Diffusion Special Interest Group (SIG) as a follow-up to a previous multi-center study on phantom validation of cardiac DTI and a recently published SCMR consensus statement on cardiac diffusion MRI. The study has been developed by the Project Management Committee in consultation with the SCMR cardiac diffusion SIG, which includes international experts in cardiac diffusion MRI. To date, more than 20 international institutions have engaged with the study, including sites that are new to cardiac DTI, making this the largest collaborative effort in the field.
Discussion
SIGNET will provide important information about the key sources of variation in cardiac DTI. This will help rationalize strategies for addressing and minimizing such variation. Harmonization of protocols in this and future studies will underpin efforts to translate cardiac DTI for clinical application.
Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) is an emerging technique for microstructural characterization of the heart and has shown clinical potential in a range of cardiomyopathies. However, there is substantial variation reported for in vivo cDTI results across the literature, and sensitivity of cDTI to differences in imaging sites, scanners, acquisition protocols, and post-processing methods remains incompletely understood.
Methods
SIGNET is a prospective multi-center, observational study in traveling and non-traveling healthy volunteers. The study was initiated by the executive board of the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) Cardiac Diffusion Special Interest Group (SIG) as a follow-up to a previous multi-center study on phantom validation of cardiac DTI and a recently published SCMR consensus statement on cardiac diffusion MRI. The study has been developed by the Project Management Committee in consultation with the SCMR cardiac diffusion SIG, which includes international experts in cardiac diffusion MRI. To date, more than 20 international institutions have engaged with the study, including sites that are new to cardiac DTI, making this the largest collaborative effort in the field.
Discussion
SIGNET will provide important information about the key sources of variation in cardiac DTI. This will help rationalize strategies for addressing and minimizing such variation. Harmonization of protocols in this and future studies will underpin efforts to translate cardiac DTI for clinical application.
Date Issued
2025-12-01
Date Acceptance
2025-08-19
Citation
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, 2025, 27 (2)
ISSN
1097-6647
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
Volume
27
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40865685
PII: S1097-6647(25)00110-3
Subjects
cardiac DTI
heart
inter-site variation
intra-site variation
myocardium
pulse sequence development
tissue characterisation
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
101948
Date Publish Online
2025-08-25