title: Accelerated aortic imaging using small field of view imaging and electrocardiogram-triggered quadruple inversion recovery magnetization preparation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To accelerate and optimize black blood properties of the quadruple inversion recovery (QIR) technique for imaging the abdominal aortic wall.
  
  
  METHODS
  QIR inversion delays were optimized for different heart rates in simulations and phantom studies by minimizing the steady state magnetization of blood for T(1) = 100-1400 ms. To accelerate and improve black blood properties of aortic vessel wall imaging, the QIR prepulse was combined with zoom imaging and (a) "traditional" and (b) "trailing" electrocardiogram (ECG) triggering. Ten volunteers were imaged pre- and post-contrast administration using a conventional ECG-triggered double inversion recovery (DIR) and the two QIR implementations in combination with a zoom-TSE readout.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The QIR implemented with "trailing" ECG-triggering resulted in consistently good blood suppression as the second inversion delay was timed during maximum systolic flow in the aorta. The blood signal-to-noise ratio and vessel wall to blood contrast-to-noise ratio, vessel wall sharpness, and image quality scores showed a statistically significant improvement compared with the traditional QIR implementation with and without ECG-triggering.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrate that aortic vessel wall imaging can be accelerated with zoom imaging and that "trailing" ECG-triggering improves black blood properties of the aorta which is subject to motion and variable blood flow during the cardiac cycle.
authors.affiliation: Kings College London, BHF Centre of Research Excellence and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Kings Health Partners, Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, St Thomas' Hospital, London, United Kingdom. sarah.peel@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Peel
authors.forename: Tarique
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cecelja
authors.forename: Abeera
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.forename: Gerald F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Greil
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chowienczyk
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spector
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waltham
authors.forename: Rene M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Botnar
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology*; D016477:Artifacts; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008280:Magnetics; D015233:Models, Statistical; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media