MR imaging of blood vessels with an intravascular coil.
A method for producing high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of blood vessel walls is described. The authors review a theoretical analysis of receiver-coil design and present a coil well suited for intravascular MR imaging. The design is based on two coaxial solenoids separated by a gap region and with current driven in opposite directions. Placement of this receiver coil within the vascular space is shown to provide a substantial increase in sensitivity over that external surface coils. Experimental verification of these predictions was obtained in a vessel phantom in which a 13-cm surface coil was compared with a 3.5-mm-diameter opposed-solenoid intravascular coil. This intravascular coil had a cylindric region of high sensitivity that offered a 10-fold improvement in signal-to-noise ratio over that of an external coil near the vessel wall. The performance of this coil was also tested in the jugular vein of a swine.
Martin
A J
AJ
Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Research, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Ont., Canada.
Plewes
D B
DB
Henkelman
R M
RM
D000818:Animals; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D008961:Models, Structural; D013552:Swine