title: Renal artery blood flow: quantification with breath-hold or respiratory triggered phase-contrast MR imaging.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reproducibility of breath-hold and respiratory triggered phase-contrast (PC) MR imaging techniques in the measurement of renal artery blood flow. In 12 healthy subjects cardiac-gated PC flow measurements were obtained in the renal arteries using a breath-hold and a respiratory-triggered technique. The flow measurements were repeated in each renal artery separately. Comparison between the sum of flow measurements in the renal arteries and the difference in aortic flow measurements above and below the renal arteries served as an internal control. The flow measurements showed a good reproducibility both with the breath-hold (r=0.92, p < 0.0001) and with the respiratory-triggered (r = 0.91, p < 0.0001) technique. The validity of both methods was good and there was no statistically significant difference. Reproducible quantitative measurements of renal artery blood flow are possible with respiratory controlled, cardiac-gated, PC MR imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: de Haan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kouwenhoven
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kessels
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: van Engelshoven
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012079:Renal Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012119:Respiration