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Transesophageal magnetic resonance imaging
Author(s) -
Shunk Kendrick A.,
Lima Joao A.C.,
Heldman Alan W.,
Atalar Ergin
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1522-2594(199904)41:4<722::aid-mrm10>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , thoracic aorta , aorta , radiology , biomedical engineering , medicine , cardiology
The purpose of this study was to develop a non‐invasive method of imaging the thoracic aorta that would provide both morphological detail within the aortic wall and information about regional aortic wall motion. An esophageal probe is described that allows transesophageal MR imaging (TEMRI) of the thoracic aorta and has several potential advantages over the competing non‐vasculoinvasive techniques of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) or standard MRI. The probe consists of a loopless antenna housed inside a modified Levin gastric tube, with external matching and tuning circuitry. Using this probe, the thoracic aorta has been imaged in longitudinal and cross‐sectional views. Details of the aortic wall were readily seen. Tissue tagging for measurement of focal stress/strain relationships was demonstrated to be feasible. TEMRI avoids the risks inherent in intravascular MRI yet provides comparable image quality. Potential applications of the device are discussed. Magn Reson Med 41:722–726, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.