Measuring the diameter of coronary arteries on MR angiograms using spatial profile curves.
OBJECTIVE
The spatial profile curve of the nuclear MR intensity across the short axis of a coronary artery in an MR angiogram results in a gradual up-and-down slope lacking sharp definition, which indicates that display parameters may influence edge recognition. Therefore, our study was designed to determine the appropriate window setting and to devise a method of accurately measuring the diameter or width of the artery independent of window parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
The diameter of a coronary artery measured on MR coronary arteriography significantly varied with experimentally selected display parameters. When compared with the diameter on contrast-enhanced coronary arteriograms, the window center on MR angiograms at the midpoint between the peak intensity of the intravascular lumen and the background intensity and the window width of a quarter or a half of the intensity difference between the two were proven to be appropriate. The angiographic diameter corresponded to the diameter obtained at 65% +/- 9% of the peak intensity on the spatial profile curve across the short-axis MR coronary angiogram. Accordingly, 65% of the peak intensity indicates the diameter of the coronary artery. Thus, the intensity profile curve independent of the window setting provided a new method for measurement of the diameter of the coronary artery.
Shimamoto
R
R
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Suzuki
J
J
Nishikawa
J
J
Fujimori
Y
Y
Nakamura
F
F
Shin
W S
WS
Tomaru
T
T
Toyo-oka
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation