title: Flow-independent 3D whole-heart vessel wall imaging using an interleaved T2-preparation acquisition.
abstract: Current techniques to visualize the arterial vessel wall are limited in coverage because most of them are flow dependent. In this study, we present a novel technique for flow-independent vessel wall imaging that takes advantage of the differences in T2 relaxation time of arterial blood and surrounding tissues using the T2-preparation prepulse. The technique is based on the acquisition and subtraction of two data sets, one obtained with and one without T2-preparation prepulse. This approach allows for nulling the signal of arterial blood while maintaining signal from muscle and vessel wall. The result of the subtraction is a flow-independent black-blood vessel wall image. To minimize the motion sensitivity of the subtraction step, we developed an interleaved acquisition for the T2-preparation prepulse and non-T2-preparation prepulse images, which allows obtaining coronary vessel wall images from a whole-heart acquisition with minimal misregistration artefacts. In this article, we present the technique and preliminary results in healthy subjects.
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, St Thomas' Hospital, London, United Kingdom. marcelo.andia_kohnenkampf@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Marcelo E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Andia
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henningsson
authors.forename: Tarique
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Alkystis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Phinikaridou
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Protti
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Greil
authors.forename: Rene M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Botnar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged