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MR coronary vessel wall imaging: Comparison between radial and spiral k‐space sampling
Author(s) -
Katoh Marcus,
Spuentrup Elmar,
Buecker Arno,
Manning Warren J.,
Günther Rolf W.,
Botnar Rene M.
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.20569
Subject(s) - spiral (railway) , sampling (signal processing) , image quality , k space , radial artery , contrast to noise ratio , visualization , coronary vessel , nuclear medicine , artery , medicine , biomedical engineering , magnetic resonance imaging , physics , radiology , artificial intelligence , computer science , optics , mathematics , image (mathematics) , cardiology , mathematical analysis , detector
Purpose To compare radial and spiral k‐space sampling in navigator‐gated ECG‐triggered three‐dimensional (3D) coronary vessel wall imaging. Materials and Methods The right coronary artery (RCA) vessel walls of eight healthy subjects were imaged using a modified double‐inversion prepulse in concert with radial and spiral data acquisition. For data analysis, two investigators blinded to the sequence parameters subjectively assessed image quality in terms of artifacts and vessel wall visualization. Objective measures of the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR), and vessel wall definition were also determined. Results Radial k‐space sampling demonstrated fewer artifacts and led to improved visualization of the coronary vessel wall compared to spiral imaging ( P < 0.05). This finding was also reflected in a better vessel wall definition using radial data acquisition ( P < 0.05). SNR and CNR were found to be higher when spiral k‐space sampling was used (n.s.). Conclusion Radial k‐space sampling in concert with free‐breathing navigator‐gated cardiac‐triggered MRI of the coronary vessel wall resulted in fewer motion artifacts and improved vessel wall definition compared to spiral k‐space sampling. The proposed approach therefore appears to be preferable. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.