Contrast-enhanced coronary artery imaging using 3D trueFISP

An ECG-triggered, segmented, magnetization-prepared, 3D, trueFISP sequence was recently developed for coronary artery imaging. Fat saturation was achieved by a chemically selective fat saturation pulse, which is susceptible to field inhomogeneities. In addition, the blood-myocardial contrast was compromised because data were acquired during signal transience to steady state. The goals of this work were to investigate the potential benefits of T(1)-shortening agents in improving blood-myocardial contrast, and to develop a technique to make fat suppression robust to resonance offsets for coronary artery imaging using trueFISP. A magnetization-preparation scheme using saturation and inversion pulses was developed for simultaneous suppression of tissues over a wide range of T(1)'s, including myocardium and fat. An additional advantage of this method is that it is insensitive to heart rate variations. Computer simulations were used to design the magnetization preparation, and volunteer studies were performed to compare precontrast imaging to contrast-enhanced (CE) imaging. Results showed consistent fat suppression and a 78% increase in the blood-myocardial contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for postcontrast imaging over precontrast imaging. In conclusion, contrast agents are useful for trueFISP coronary artery imaging.