Contrast-kinetics-resolved whole-heart coronary MRA using 3DPR.
Slow contrast infusion was recently proposed for contrast-enhanced whole-heart coronary MR angiography. Current protocols use Cartesian k-space sampling with empiric acquisition delays, potentially resulting in suboptimal coronary artery delineation and image artifacts if there is a timing error. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using time-resolved three-dimensional projection reconstruction for whole-heart coronary MR angiography. With this method, data acquisition was started simultaneously with contrast injection. Sequential time frames were reconstructed by employing a sliding window scheme with temporal tornado filtering. Additionally, a self-timing method was developed to monitor contrast enhancement during a scan and automatically determine the peak enhancement time around which optimal temporal frames were reconstructed. Our preliminary results on six healthy volunteers showed that by using time-resolved three-dimensional projection reconstruction, the contrast kinetics of the coronary artery system throughout a scan could be retrospectively resolved and assessed. In addition, the blood signal dynamics predicted using self-timing was closely correlated to the true dynamics in time-resolved reconstruction. This approach is useful for optimizing delineation of each coronary artery and minimizing image artifacts for contrast-enhanced whole-heart MRA.
Lai
Peng
P
Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Huang
Feng
F
Li
Yu
Y
Nielles-Vallespin
Sonia
S
Bi
Xiaoming
X
Jerecic
Renate
R
Li
Debiao
D
D016477:Artifacts; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008536:Meglumine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C064572:gadobenic acid; D008536:Meglumine