Recent Developments in Small Animal Cardiovascular MRI

International audienceThis review is intended to give a comprehensive overview over new cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) method developments and refinements dedicated to the fully non-invasive in vivo exploration of the rodent heart. Unlike other cardiovascular imaging techniques, CMR techniques exist in many modalities giving access to parameters characterizing morphology, global and regional function, blood flow, myocardial structure, cell damage, metabolism and other molecular processes in mouse and rat models of human disease. But even in healthy animals, small animal CMR techniques can help exploring general physiological and biochemical mechanisms in vivo. New magnetic resonance imaging methods and imaging protocols are actively being developed by the entire CMR community with the goal of widening the spectrum of observable and measurable myocardial properties. This report also includes a selection of application studies using recent CMR methodology in this field. Beyond giving new insights into pathophysiologic processes, these studies underline the growing usefulness of CMR in a small animal research context