Clinical experience in timed arterial compression contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography of the hand.
OBJECTIVE
A retrospective analysis of the diagnostic performance of the timed arterial compression (TAC) technique, which allows freezing of the contrast bolus during first-pass contrast-enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to diagnose vascular pathologies in the hand.


METHODS
A total of 14 consecutive CE-MRAs of the hand were acquired by using the TAC technique. By inflating a blood pressure cuff up to 200 mm Hg triggered to the arterial contrast filling of the hand, prolonged measurement times up to 144 seconds, with a spatial resolution of 0.59 × 0.59 × 0.8 mm(3), could be realized. Overall image qualities, arterial signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and vessel conspicuity besides the final diagnosis were evaluated.


RESULTS
All 14 TAC-CE-MRAs of the hand were successfully accomplished without any adverse events and yielded, in all cases, a final diagnosis with a high total number of vascular pathologies (57). High arterial SNR and CNR values exceeding the soil of 85 and 60, respectively, resulted. Thus, overall vessel visibility (>90%), vessel conspicuity (mean Δ signal intensity [SI]/mm = 1,193) and image quality on a per patient level (>60%) were rated as excellent or good.


CONCLUSIONS
TAC-CE-MRA of the hand offers high diagnostic performance because of its increased spatial resolution while preserving contrast, which allowed detection of tiny stenoses of the digital arteries.
Gutzeit
Andreas
A
Department of Radiology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland. Andreas.gutzeit@ksw.ch
Eckhardt
Boris
B
Beranek
Jan
J
Wentz
Klaus U
KU
Willemse
Edwin
E
Jenelten
Regula
R
Binkert
Christoph A
CA
Froehlich
Johannes M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000098:blood supply*; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017535:Ulnar Artery / Q000473:pathology; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
D003287:Contrast Media; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C050823:gadolinium 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetraacetate