MR coronary vessel wall imaging: comparison between radial and spiral k-space sampling.
OBJECTIVE
To compare radial and spiral k-space sampling in navigator-gated ECG-triggered three-dimensional (3D) coronary vessel wall imaging.


METHODS
The right coronary artery (RCA) vessel walls of eight healthy subjects were imaged using a modified double-inversion prepulse in concert with radial and spiral data acquisition. For data analysis, two investigators blinded to the sequence parameters subjectively assessed image quality in terms of artifacts and vessel wall visualization. Objective measures of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and vessel wall definition were also determined.


RESULTS
Radial k-space sampling demonstrated fewer artifacts and led to improved visualization of the coronary vessel wall compared to spiral imaging (P < 0.05). This finding was also reflected in a better vessel wall definition using radial data acquisition (P < 0.05). SNR and CNR were found to be higher when spiral k-space sampling was used (n.s.).


CONCLUSIONS
Radial k-space sampling in concert with free-breathing navigator-gated cardiac-triggered MRI of the coronary vessel wall resulted in fewer motion artifacts and improved vessel wall definition compared to spiral k-space sampling. The proposed approach therefore appears to be preferable.
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Aachen, University of Technology, Aachen, Germany. katoh@rad.rwth-aachen.de
Marcus
M
Katoh
Elmar
E
Spuentrup
Arno
A
Buecker
Warren J
WJ
Manning
Rolf W
RW
Günther
Rene M
RM
Botnar
D000328:Adult; D016477:Artifacts; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012016:Reference Values