MR imaging of the coronary vasculature: imaging the lumen, wall, and beyond.
The characteristics of coronary artery disease are gradual thickening of the coronary walls and narrowing of the vascular lumen by the buildup of atherosclerosis plaques. These morphologic changes can be noninvasively detected by coronary magnetic resonance (MR) imaging/MR angiography (MRA). In addition, functional changes, such as coronary wall distensibility and flow changes, may also be evaluated with MR imaging. However, the application of current MR imaging/MRA techniques is limited in clinical practice because of several adverse technical and physiologic factors, such as cardiac and respiratory motion. Many technical innovations have been adopted to address these problems from multiple aspects.
Department of Radiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 737 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. Electronic address: kai-lin@northwestern.edu.
Kai
K
Lin
Department of Radiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 737 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
James C
JC
Carr
D000368:Aged; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
Coronary artery disease; Magnetic resonance imaging; Noninvasive