Multislice breath-hold spiral magnetic resonance coronary angiography in patients with coronary artery disease: effect of intravascular contrast medium.
OBJECTIVE
First, to apply a breath-hold multislice 2D spiral magnetic resonance (MR) approach in patients acquiring within 16 heartbeats (acquisition window, 116 msec) a 10-mm-thick stack of four slices (resolution, 1.3 x 1.3 mm(2)); and second, to evaluate the effect of an intravascular Fe-based contrast medium (CM) on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR).


METHODS
In each patient one or two coronary arteries were imaged prior to and following cumulative doses of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 mg of Fe/kg of body weight (bw) of an intravascular CM (CLARISCAN trade mark, Nycomed-Amersham, Princeton, NJ, USA) containing ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles.


RESULTS
On precontrast maximum intensity projection (MIP) images generated from the stack of slices, 10 and 11 stenoses of 12 stenoses confirmed by coronary angiography were detected by readers 1 and 2, respectively. SNR and CNR in the coronary arteries peaked at 0.50 mg of Fe/kg of bw, yielding a slight increase of 15.5% and 18.4%, respectively (P < 0.05 vs. precontrast), which did not improve detection of coronary artery stenoses.


CONCLUSIONS
The presented multislice spiral approach allows display of coronary anatomy in MIP formats for convenient display of coronary stenoses. The pulse sequence did not benefit from an intravascular USPIO-based CM, since little improvement in SNR and CNR was achieved.
Knuesel
Patrick R
PR
Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Nanz
Daniel
D
Wolfensberger
Ursula
U
Saranathan
Manojkumar
M
Lehning
Anja
A
Luescher
Thomas F
TF
Marincek
Borut
B
von Schulthess
Gustav K
GK
Schwitter
Juerg
J
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003911:Dextrans; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010087:Oxides / Q000008:administration & dosage
D003287:Contrast Media; D003911:Dextrans; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D010087:Oxides; C097921:ferumoxtran-10; D007501:Iron; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide