title: Performance of a new gadolinium-based intravascular contrast agent in free-breathing inversion-recovery 3D coronary MRA.
abstract: In three-dimensional (3D) coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), the in-flow contrast between the coronary blood and the surrounding myocardium is attenuated as compared to thin-slab two-dimensional (2D) techniques. The application of a gadolinium (Gd)-based intravascular contrast agent may provide an additional source of signal and contrast by reducing T(1blood) and supporting the visualization of more distal or branching segments of the coronary arterial tree. In six healthy adults, the left coronary artery (LCA) system was imaged pre- and postcontrast with a 0.075-mmol/kg bodyweight dose of the intravascular contrast agent B-22956. For imaging, an optimized free-breathing, navigator-gated and -corrected 3D inversion recovery (IR) sequence was used. For comparison, state-of-the-art baseline 3D coronary MRA with T(2) preparation for non-exogenous contrast enhancement was acquired. The combination of IR 3D coronary MRA, sophisticated navigator technology, and B-22956 allowed for an extensive visualization of the LCA system. Postcontrast, a significant increase in both the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR; 46%, P < 0.05) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR; 160%, P < 0.01) was observed, while vessel sharpness of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery and the left coronary circumflex (LCX) were improved by 20% (P < 0.05) and 18% (P < 0.05), respectively.
authors.affiliation: ETH and University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paetsch
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schnackenburg
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bornstedt
authors.forename: Eike
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nagel
authors.forename: Eckart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fleck
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boesiger
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maggioni
authors.forename: Friedrich M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Cavagna
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stuber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003287:Contrast Media; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D009942:Organometallic Compounds
chemical_list: C440468:B-22956-1; D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D005682:Gadolinium