Coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography (MRA): a comparison between the whole-heart and volume-targeted methods using a T2-prepared SSFP sequence

J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2006;8(5):703-7. doi: 10.1080/10976640600723706.

Abstract

In this study, coronary MRA was performed on 10 healthy volunteers using the whole-heart and volume-targeted scans with comparable imaging parameters. Similar results in the SNR, CNR, and vessel diameter were observed. The depicted length of coronary arteries was longer using the whole-heart scan (whole-heart: RCA/LAD = 13.4 +/- 3.9/10.5 +/- 1.6 cm; volume-targeted: RCA/LAD = 11.0 +/- 2.6/8.7 +/- 1.8 cm). Imaging times for the RCA- (3.8 +/- 1.4 minutes) and LAD-targeted (3.6 +/- 1.3 minutes) are similar, while the time required for one whole-heart scan is significantly longer (12.2 +/- 4.0 minutes). The measured vessel sharpness was higher using the volume-targeted method (whole-heart: RCA/LAD = 0.65 +/- 0.18/0.78 +/- 0.16; volume-targeted: RCA/LAD = 0.84 +/- 0.22/0.90 +/- 0.20). Combination of the whole-heart and volume-targeted methods could be potentially useful in clinical applications of coronary MRA.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Coronary Circulation
  • Coronary Vessels / anatomy & histology*
  • Coronary Vessels / physiology*
  • Electrocardiography*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Magnetic Resonance Angiography* / classification
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Reference Values
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted