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Near‐isotropic noncontrast MRA of the renal and peripheral arteries using a thin‐slab stack‐of‐stars quiescent interval slice‐selective acquisition
Author(s) -
Edelman Robert R.,
Aherne Emily,
Leloudas das,
Pang Jianing,
Koktzoglou Ioannis
Publication year - 2020
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/mrm.28032
Subject(s) - medicine , peripheral , coronal plane , nuclear medicine , radiology
Purpose Noncontrast MRA avoids potential risks from gadolinium‐based contrast agents. A 2D noncontrast technique, quiescent interval slice‐selective (QISS), accurately evaluates the peripheral arteries but has limited spatial resolution along the slice direction. We therefore implemented a prototype thin‐slab stack‐of‐stars version (tsSOS‐QISS) with nearly isotropic spatial resolution and tested it in the renal and peripheral arteries of healthy subjects and patients with vascular disease. Methods The study was approved by the hospital institutional review board. A total of 16 subjects were scanned at 1.5 T: 7 for imaging of the renal arteries and 9 for imaging of the peripheral arteries. For tsSOS‐QISS of the renal arteries, each slab consisted of about sixteen 1.3‐mm‐thick or 2.0‐mm‐thick slices (interpolated to thirty‐two 0.65‐mm‐thick or 1.0‐mm‐thick 3D partitions) oriented in an oblique axial or oblique coronal view along the length of the target vessel and was acquired in a breath‐hold. For tsSOS‐QISS of the peripheral arteries, 20 axial overlapping thin slabs were typically acquired, each with twelve 1.3‐mm‐thick slices (interpolated to twenty‐four 0.65‐mm‐thick 3D partitions). Image quality, vessel sharpness in multiplanar reconstructions, and normalized SNR were measured. Results Image quality and normalized SNR in the renal and peripheral arteries were significantly better compared with 2D QISS acquired at the same spatial resolution, while vessel sharpness was improved in multiplanar reconstructions of the renal arteries. Conclusion The tsSOS‐QISS technique overcomes a significant limitation of 2D QISS by providing nearly isotropic spatial resolution with improved image quality, normalized SNR, and vessel sharpness in multiplanar reconstructions.