[MR angiography of the pelvic-leg blood vessels: current status and perspectives].
Currently 2D time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) is most commonly used for the evaluation of the extremities. The major limitation of all MRA techniques is their susceptibility to signal loss from intra-voxel phase dispersion. This leads to an overestimated grading of the stenosis. Further difficulties are motion artifacts and the limited spatial resolution. Therefore, MRA alone cannot be used routinely as a preoperative diagnostic procedure in patients with peripheral arterial disease. The postoperative examination of patients with vascular bypasses, however, seems to be a practical application of this technique. It is also possible to use MRA to image the lower limbs after percutaneous interventional angioplasty. The application of 2D-ECG-triggered sequences or the current fast technique of contrast-enhanced 3D-TOF MRA might play a role in combination with surface coils for future examinations of peripheral arterial disease.
Vosshenrich
R
R
Abteilung Röntgendiagnostik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
Fischer
U
U
Kopka
L
L
Grabbe
E
E
D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D010388:Pelvis / Q000098:blood supply*