Abstract and Introduction
Introduction
Over recent years, the use of diagnostic catheterization has been surrogated by continuous improvements in noninvasive imaging techniques. Despite these advances, life expectancy of patients with congenital heart defects (CHDs) is still reduced compared with the normal population. Further improvements in imaging techniques to detect the pathophysiological changes early and, therefore, redefine the management criteria would be desirable. Current research efforts aim to image cellular and metabolic processes in vivo to help improve our understanding of their interactions with the flow dynamic and remodeling processes of the cardiovascular system. This challenging task can only be accomplished through the multidisciplinary cooperation between pediatric cardiologists, radiologists, bioengineers, computer scientists and biologists. This article discusses the novel and multidisciplinary imaging techniques from the early pioneer work in interventional-guided MRI to the most recent research areas.