title: Three-dimensional fluid-suppressed T2-prep flow-independent peripheral angiography using balanced SSFP.
abstract: Accurate depiction of the vessels of the lower leg, foot or hand benefits from suppression of bright MR signal from lipid (such as bone marrow) and long-T1 fluid (such as synovial fluid and edema). Signal independence of blood flow velocities, good arterial/muscle contrast and arterial/venous separation are also desirable. The high SNR, short scan times and flow properties of balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) make it an excellent candidate for flow-independent angiography. In this work, a new magnetization-prepared 3D SSFP sequence for flow-independent peripheral angiography is presented. The technique combines a number of component techniques (phase-sensitive fat detection, inversion recovery, T2-preparation and square-spiral phase-encode ordering) to achieve high-contrast peripheral angiograms at only a modest scan time penalty over simple 3D SSFP. The technique is described in detail, a parameter optimization performed and preliminary results presented achieving high contrast and 1-mm isotropic resolution in a normal foot.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA. nealb@ee.byu.edu
authors.forename: Neal K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Bangerter
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cukur
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hargreaves
authors.forename: Bob S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jean H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Brittain
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Garry E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Dwight G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002384:Catalysis; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D005528:Foot / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media