HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Katoh, M. Articles by Botnar, R. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Katoh, M. Articles by Botnar, R. M. Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

MRI of Coronary Vessel Walls Using Radial k-Space Sampling and Steady-State Free Precession Imaging

¹ Department of Diagnostic Radiology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52057 Aachen, Germany.
² Philips Research Laboratories, Hamburg, Germany.
³ Department of Radiology, Division of MRI Research, Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, MD.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to investigate the impact of radial k-space sampling and steady-state free precession (SSFP) imaging on image quality in MRI of coronary vessel walls.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Eleven subjects were examined on a 1.5-T MR system using three high-resolution navigator-gated and cardiac-triggered 3D black blood sequences (cartesian gradient-echo [GRE], radial GRE, and radial SSFP) with identical spatial resolution (0.9 x 0.9 x 2.4 mm³). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), vessel wall sharpness, and motion artifacts were analyzed.

RESULTS. The mean SNR and CNR of the coronary vessel wall were improved using radial imaging and were best using radial k-space sampling combined with SSFP imaging. Vessel border definition was similar for all three sequences. Radial k-space sampling was found to be less sensitive to motion. Consistently good image quality was seen with the radial GRE sequence.

CONCLUSION. Radial k-space sampling in MRI of coronary vessel walls resulted in fewer motion artifacts and improved SNR and CNR. The use of SSFP imaging, however, did not result in improved coronary vessel wall visualization.

Keywords: angiography • arteriosclerosis • cardiovascular imaging • coronary artery disease • hemodynamics • MR angiography • MRI • radial k-space sampling

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. M. Colletti Cardiac Imaging 2006 Am. J. Roentgenol., June 1, 2006; 186(6_Supplement_2): S337 - S340. [Full Text] [PDF]