Figure 6. In vivo fluorine-19 (¹⁹F)-cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) of myocarditis.

A, ¹H CMR slice in the short-axis orientation at the base of the heart of a mouse with disease score 3; ¹H CMR depicts the right and left ventricles (RV and LV) as well as the lung (Lu) and liver (Li). B, ¹⁹F-CMR of the same anatomic location. Two regions with a ¹⁹F signal can be observed: a thin line at the level of the myocardium (solid arrow) and a larger region at the level of the liver (dotted arrow). The color coding for ¹⁹F signal intensity is given to the right (in arbitrary units). C, Fusion of the ¹H (A) and ¹⁹F images (B): the ¹⁹F signal colocalizes with the subepicardial layer of the LV anterior wall, the RV free wall (arrow) and the liver (dotted arrow). D, A similar fused basal slice in an animal with disease score 4. Here, the ¹⁹F signal is spread over the majority of the ventricles with a subepicardial ¹⁹F signal in the inferior wall of the LV (arrow head). E, Animal with disease score 2 with a relatively small patch of ¹⁹F signal (arrow). F, Healthy control, in which a ¹⁹F signal can only be observed in the liver (dotted arrow). As originally published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc in van Heeswijk et al. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2013;6(2):280 ⁸²