Cardiac MRI > Technique > Cine Imaging
Cine Imaging
Cine images are short movies that are able to show heart motion throughout the cardiac cycle. Cine images are obtained with ECG triggered segmented imaging. Segmented acquisition is the process of dividing the cardiac cycle into multiple segments (frames) to produce a series of images that can be displayed as a movie (cine). The cardiac cycle begins with the R wave of the ECG, ends with the subsequent R wave and is typically divided into 10 to 20 segments, depending on the heart rate. Each image in the cine is typically composed of information gathered over several heart beats allowing for a movie to be acquired with a breath hold of 10 to 20 seconds depending on the sequence. As in any movie, the final cine is a sequence of individual frames. These images can be very helpful in studying cardiac function, valvular function, and movement of blood through the heart. The myocardium contracts and thickens throughout the cardiac cycle, and any abnormality in this wall motion indicates a problem with the myocardium such as ischemia or infarct.
This figure shows an ECG tracing with the colored boxes representing different frames. Information is acquired during each same colored box across multiple heart beats to produce an image. The series of images are then put together to produce a cine.
This is a cine that shows normally functioning myocardium in the 4 chamber view. The cine was obtained across multiple cardiac cycles and hence represents an average of heart motion. The cine can be looped to give the appearance of a continuously beating heart.
