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Multicontrast black‐blood MRI of carotid arteries: Comparison between 1.5 and 3 tesla magnetic field strengths
Author(s) -
Yarnykh Vasily L.,
Terashima Masahiro,
Hayes Cecil E.,
Shimakawa Ann,
Takaya Norihide,
Nguyen Patricia K.,
Brittain Jean H.,
McConnell Michael V.,
Yuan Chun
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.20562
Subject(s) - intraclass correlation , lumen (anatomy) , nuclear medicine , medicine , multislice , coefficient of variation , image quality , contrast to noise ratio , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance , mathematics , physics , radiology , surgery , clinical psychology , statistics , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics) , psychometrics
Purpose To compare black‐blood multicontrast carotid imaging at 3T and 1.5T and assess compatibility between morphological measurements of carotid arteries at 1.5T and 3T. Materials and Methods Five healthy subjects and two atherosclerosis patients were scanned in 1.5T and 3T scanners with a similar protocol providing transverse T 1 ‐, T 2 ‐, and proton density (PD)‐weighted black‐blood images using a fast spin‐echo sequence with single‐ (T 1 ‐weighted) or multislice (PD‐/T 2 ‐weighted) double inversion recovery (DIR) preparation. Wall and lumen signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) and wall/lumen contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) were compared in 44 artery cross‐sections by paired t ‐test. Interscanner variability of the lumen area (LA), wall area (WA), and mean wall thickness (MWT) was assessed using Bland‐Altman analysis. Results Wall SNR and lumen/wall CNR significantly increased ( P < 0.0001) at 3T with a 1.5‐fold gain for T 1 ‐weighted images and a 1.7/1.8‐fold gain for PD‐/T 2 ‐weighted images. Lumen SNR did not differ for single‐slice DIR T 1 ‐weighted images ( P = 0.2), but was larger at 3T for multislice DIR PD‐/T 2 ‐weighted images ( P = 0.01/0.03). The LA, WA, and MWT demonstrated good agreement with no significant bias ( P 0.5), a coefficient of variation (CV) of <10%, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of >0.95. Conclusion This study demonstrated significant improvement in SNR, CNR, and image quality for high‐ resolution black‐blood imaging of carotid arteries at 3T. Morphologic measurements are compatible between 1.5T and 3T. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.