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Optimization of the contrast dose and injection rates in whole‐body MR angiography at 3.0T
Author(s) -
Waugh Shelley A.,
Ramkumar P. Guntur,
Gandy Stephen J.,
Nicholas R. Stephen,
Martin Patricia,
Belch Jill J.F.,
Struthers Allan D.,
Houston J. Graeme
Publication year - 2009
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.21930
Subject(s) - image quality , contrast (vision) , medicine , magnetic resonance angiography , nuclear medicine , scanner , arterial tree , magnetic resonance imaging , angiography , radiology , dynamic contrast , whole body imaging , contrast to noise ratio , computer science , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics)
Purpose: To optimize the contrast agent dose and delivery rate used in a novel whole‐body magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) protocol using a 3.0T MR scanner. Materials and Methods: Six groups of 20 consenting volunteers underwent whole‐body MRA, with each group receiving a different contrast dose and contrast delivery rate. The arterial tree was divided into 16 segments and the image quality at each of the anatomical locations, covering the whole body, was assessed. Qualitative analysis was carried out using a scoring assessment of image quality, and quantitative assessments were performed by measuring contrast‐to‐noise (CNR) and a signal‐to‐noise (SNR) index. Results: Reducing the contrast dose from 40 mL to 25 mL was found to significantly increase the CNR in several vessels of interest in the arterial tree. There was also a significant increase in the qualitative image quality score ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that reducing the contrast dose at 3.0T can result in an increase in the CNR in the vessels of interest without significantly affecting the SNR. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;30:1059–1067. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.