[Submillimeter 3D coronary MR angiography with real-time navigator correction in 107 patients with suspected coronary artery disease].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical value of high-resolution coronary MR angiography (coronary MRA) in a large group of patients with suspected coronary artery disease.


METHODS
107 patients with suspected coronary artery disease underwent free-breathing coronary MRA (Intera, 1.5 T, Philips Medical Systems). To compensate for artefacts due to respiratory motion, a right hemidiaphragmatic navigator with real time-time slice correction was used. An ECG-gated, fat-suppressed, 3D segmented-k-space gradient echo sequence (in plane resolution 0.70 x 0.79 mm(2)) was used. Cardiac catheterization with selective coronary angiography was performed in all patients. Visualization of the coronary arteries (CA) was qualitatively assessed using a four-point grading scale.


RESULTS
Image quality of grade 1 was achieved in 24 %, grade 2 in 48 %, grade 3 in 24 % and grade in in 4 % of patients. Based on an evaluation of the coronary MRAs of all patients (n = 107) sensitivity and specificity for the detection of stenoses > 60 % in the proximal and middle main coronary arteries were 74 % and 63 %, respectively. In coronary MRAs with good quality [grade 1 and 2, n = 77/107 (72 %)] sensitivity and specificity for the detection of coronary stenoses were 88 % and 91 %, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Submillimeter 3D coronary MRA with real-time navigator correction allows high quality imaging of the proximal and middle main coronary arteries with good sensitivity and specificity for detection of stenoses > 50 % in selected patients. However, in about 28 % of patients image quality is severely impaired.
Sommer
T
T
Radiologische Universitätsklinik Bonn. t.sommer@uni-bonn.de
Hofer
U
U
Hackenbroch
M
M
Meyer
C
C
Flacke
S
S
Schmiedel
A
A
Schmitz
C
C
Thiemann
K
K
Omran
H
H
Schild
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003331:Coronary Vessels; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity