Adult smart-sync
Filling the gaps for cardiac gating
smart-sync is a CE and FDA cleared
gating device for 1.5T and 3T MR-Systems
Benefits
Fast Application
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No skin preparation required (no shaving or cleaning)
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No need for electrode placement
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Unaffected by patient motion
Reliable Gating
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No interference with MRI scanners, including 3T
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Effective even in cases of low ECG voltage (e.g., high BMI)
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Suitable for patients with surgical scars or pacemakers
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Robust performance in arrhythmic cases (e.g., bigeminy)
Image Quality
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Enables retrospective CINE imaging in patients with irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias
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Supports prospective gating during diastasis using a dedicated diastolic trigger
How does it work?
Doppler Trigger Signal
smart-sync provides two different trigger:
Systole:
Trigger on systolic contraction (movement of the myocardium)
Diastole:
Triggers on the timepoint when no motion occurs at the start of diastasis (rest period)
Doppler Trigger Signal - Systole Trigger
Systole:
The actual movement of the myocardium that we want to freeze in time is measured. Dependent on the beat-to-beat variation the delay of the systole trigger to the R-wave is between 100-130ms
Advantage to the ECG:
The actual motion is sorted always to the right cardiac phase in retrospective CINE sequences. This is not possible with the ECG as the time between R-Wave and motion varies from beat-to-beat in a range of 60-120ms leading to motion artefacts using the ECG.
MR Integration
Easily integrates with the following MRI machines without requiring additional software
ECG vs. DUS
Case Study: 14-Year-Old with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
This case involves a pediatric patient with high flow velocities due to CHD. Despite the complex hemodynamics, image quality remains uncompromised when triggering is aligned with diastole—demonstrating the robustness of our gating solutions.
ECG
DUS
This example highlights the reliability of Doppler Ultrasound-based gating in pediatric cardiac imaging—particularly when ECG signal quality is low or electrode placement is difficult.
Case Study: 14-Year-Old with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
This pediatric case demonstrates artefact-free cardiac imaging under high flow conditions when acquisition is triggered to diastole.
ECG
DUS
This example highlights the effectiveness of Doppler Ultrasound-based gating in achieving artefact-free cardiac imaging in pediatric CHD cases with high flow velocities.
Recent Publications
L.D. Beissel et al.
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
2025