Cardiac PET/MR

Hybrid cardiac MR/PET imaging allows for simultaneous PET and MR cardiac evaluation, combining the molecular specificity of PET with anatomic information, tissue characterization, and functional cardiac data from MRI for a wide range of clinical indications and research applications. This article presents an overview of the current status and possible future directions of cardiac PET/MRI. Technical challenges of combined PET and MR scanner, specifically related to attenuation correction and motion artifacts, are discussed. The article concentrates on the current and future clinical applications of hybrid PET/MR, including ischemic heart diseases , inflammatory conditions, and nonischemic cardiomyopathies .