title: Three-station three-dimensional bolus-chase MR angiography with real-time fluoroscopic tracking.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the feasibility of using real-time fluoroscopic tracking for bolus-chase magnetic resonance (MR) angiography of peripheral vasculature to image three stations from the aortoiliac bifurcation to the pedal arteries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study was institutional review board approved and HIPAA compliant. Eight healthy volunteers (three men; mean age, 48 years; age range, 30-81 years) and 13 patients suspected of having peripheral arterial disease (five men; mean age, 67 years; age range, 47-81 years) were enrolled and provided informed consent. All subjects were imaged with the fluoroscopic tracking MR angiographic protocol. Ten patients also underwent a clinical computed tomographic (CT) angiographic runoff examination. Two readers scored the MR angiographic studies for vessel signal intensity and sharpness and presence of confounding artifacts and venous contamination at 35 arterial segments. Mean aggregate scores were assessed. The paired MR angiographic and CT angiographic studies also were scored for visualization of disease, reader confidence, and overall diagnostic quality and were compared by using a Wilcoxon signed rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Real-time fluoroscopic tracking performed well technically in all studies. Vessel segments were scored good to excellent in all but the following categories: For vessel signal intensity and sharpness, the abdominal aorta, iliac arteries, distal plantar arteries, and plantar arch were scored as fair to good; and for presence of confounding artifacts, the abdominal aorta and iliac arteries were scored as fair. The MR angiograms and CT angiograms did not differ significantly in any scoring category (reader 1: P = .50, .39, and .39; reader 2: P = .41, .61, and .33, respectively). CT scores were substantially better in 20% (four of 20) and 25% (five of 20) of the pooled evaluations for the visualization of disease and overall image quality categories, respectively, versus 5% (one of 20) for MR scores in both categories.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three-station bolus-chase MR angiography with real-time fluoroscopic tracking provided high-spatial-resolution arteriograms of the peripheral vasculature, enabled precise triggering of table motion, and compared well with CT angiograms.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa (C.P.J.); and MR Research Laboratory and Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905 (P.T.W., E.A.B., R.C.G., T.C.H., C.C.L., P.J.R., J.F.G., P.M.Y., S.J.R.).
authors.forename: Casey P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Paul T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Weavers
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Borisch
authors.forename: Roger C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Hulshizer
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: LaPlante
authors.forename: Phillip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Rossman
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Glockner
authors.forename: Phillip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Riederer
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000098:blood supply*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008536:Meglumine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D008875:Middle Aged; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C064572:gadobenic acid; D008536:Meglumine