[Comparison of 3 Tesla whole heart coronary MRA (WHCA) with 1.5 Tesla].
Whole heart coronary MRA (WHCA) is a noninvasive method used to image all coronary arteries with cardiac and real-time respiratory gating. We compared the coronary depiction ability of 3T WHCA with that of 1.5T using healthy volunteers. In addition, we compared the study performance rate, which might differ at 3T and 1.5T due to the difference in specific absorption rate (SAR) limits. The coronary artery was classified into nine segments, based on the classification of the American Heart Association (AHA). Each observer was asked to evaluate WHCA with the three-point scale rating for each segment, and to measure the visible length of each coronary artery utilizing reconstructed CPR and VR images. Depiction at 3T was superior to that at 1.5T. The completion rate of study was 100% at 1.5T, but just 63% at 3T owing to SAR limits. Thus it was suggested that 3T WHCA might be feasible with the advantage of high depiction ability, if adequate SAR reduction techniques were developed.
Ohyama
Kosuke
K
Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of Tokushima, Department of Medical Imaging.
Kubo
Hitoshi
H
Harada
Masafumi
M
Sasahara
Yuji
Y
Nozaki
Atsushi
A
Takei
Naoyuki
N
Takao
Syoichiro
S
Nishitani
Hiromu
H
D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D055815:Young Adult