title: Whole-heart steady-state free precession coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography.
abstract: Current implementations of coronary artery magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) suffer from limited coverage of the coronary arterial system. Whole-heart coronary MRA was implemented based on a free-breathing steady-state free-precession (SSFP) technique with magnetization preparation. The technique was compared to a similar implementation of conventional, thin-slab coronary MRA in 12 normal volunteers. Three thin-slab volumes were prescribed: 1) a transverse slab, covering the left main (LM) artery and proximal segments of the left anterior ascending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) coronary arteries; 2) a double-oblique slab covering the right coronary artery (RCA); and 3) a double-oblique slab covering the proximal and distal segments of the LCX. The whole-heart data set was reformatted in identical orientations. Visible vessel length, vessel sharpness, and vessel diameter were determined and compared separately for each vessel. Whole-heart coronary MRA visualized LM/LAD (11.7 +/- 3.4 cm) and LCX (6.9 +/- 3.6 cm) over a significantly longer distance than the transverse volume (LM/LAD, 6.1 +/- 1.1 cm, P < 0.001; LCX, 4.2 +/- 1.2 cm, P < 0.05). Improvements in visible vessel length for RCA and LCX in the whole-heart approach vs. their respective targeted volumes were not significant. It is concluded that the whole-heart coronary MRA technique improves visible vessel length and facilitates high-quality coronary MRA of the complete coronary artery tree in a single measurement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA. oliver.weber@radiology.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Oliver M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Alastair J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Higgins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male