Assessment of myocardial inflammation post-infarct with PET/MRI: Getting into the nitty-gritty

Integrated hybrid positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) systems were first introduced a little over 10 years ago. Widespread adoption and utilization of PET/MRI has been hampered by several factors, including the substantial cost of the systems, challenges in obtaining accurate attenuation maps, and the overall effectiveness of PET-computed tomography (PET/CT) systems. To date, few PET/MRI applications stand out, most of which are driven by the overpowering superiority of MRI over CT in specific contexts. Neurology, neuro-oncology, prostate cancer, gynecologic malignancies, and pediatric imaging are good examples of areas where PET/MRI can shine.1 Cardiovascular imaging is another example where PET/MRI systems could find valuable applications. After all, PET and MRI often play complementary roles in several cardiovascular pathologies, such as cardiac inflammation, vasculitis, cardiac tumors, and viability assessment.2‐4 In addition, with PET/MRI systems, it is possible to apply corrections accounting for both breathing and cardiac motion,5 allowing for improved spatial resolution and quantification accuracy. …