Figure 3

The appearance of partial volume effects on T1 ρ-weighted images over an area containing regional infarct transmurality. Infarct size can be underdetermined as shown for the situation on the left. The composite (average) slice suggests that the infarct is transmural. This is only true, however, only for the most apical slices (A,D), whereas the more basal slices (B,E) and (C,F) are non-transmural. The situation on the right demonstrates that the composite slice can have a heterogeneous appearance of varying transmural signal intensity, whereas thinner slices show that this is not the case. Instead, the infarct has a discrete appearance (i.e. all-or-none, infarct or myocardium). In most cases, the contrast between the LV blood and the infarct can be improved using thinner slices.