Contrast-enhanced whole-heart MR coronary angiography at 3.0 T using the intravascular contrast agent gadofosveset.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to compare contrast-enhanced (CE) whole-heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 3.0 T using gadofosveset to noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) coronary MRA at 1.5 T.


METHODS
A prospective randomized study was conducted among 20 healthy male volunteers. The same group of subjects underwent CE whole heart MRA at 3.0 T employing a 3D FLASH sequence with IR prepulse after gadofosveset injection as well as noncontrast-enhanced coronary MRA at 1.5 T using a 3D SSFP sequence with T2-preparation. Both techniques were performed using prospective ECG-triggering and adaptive respiratory gating. Acquisition time, signal-to-noise ratio of coronary blood, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between coronaries and adjacent myocardium or epicardial fat, and image quality were evaluated in each case.


RESULTS
A significant increase of the overall CNR between coronary blood and adjacent myocardium was measured on images acquired at 3 T in comparison to 1.5 T. The mean values were 38.9 +/- 19.6 and 26.3 +/- 15.4, respectively (P[r] < 0.005). There was no significant difference in CNR between coronary blood and epicardial fat. The mean image quality for the proximal and mid coronary segments was not statistically different between 1.5 T and 3.0 T (P > 0.05), however, the distal coronary segments were rated significantly higher for the CE MRA at 3.0 T (P = 0.02). The average acquisition time (15.29 +/- 5.73 minutes at 1.5 T vs. 17.29 +/- 5.18 minutes at 3 T) and overall image quality (2.15 +/- 0.49 at 1.5 T vs. 2.35 +/- 0.39 at 3 T) were similar for both methods.


CONCLUSIONS
CE whole-heart coronary MRA at 3.0 T demonstrated higher overall CNR between coronary blood and myocardium and an improved image quality of the distal coronary segments compared with noncontrast-enhanced SSFP coronary MRA at 1.5 T.
Prompona
Maria
M
Institut für Klinische Radiologie, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, München, Germany. mariadoctor@hotmail.com
Cyran
Clemens
C
Nikolaou
Konstantin
K
Bauner
Kerstin
K
Reiser
Maximilian
M
Huber
Armin
A
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D005682:Gadolinium; C109932:gadofosveset trisodium