Ultrafast whole-body MR angiography with two-dimensional parallel imaging at 3.0 T: feasibility study

The study was approved by the local ethics committee, and informed consent was provided by all participants prior to the examination. The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility of whole-body three-dimensional (3D) contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) angiography with parallel imaging in the phase- and section-encoding directions (ie, integrated parallel acquisition technique [iPAT(2); Siemens, Erlangen, Germany]) for all anatomic imaging stations in combination with a single injection of contrast material. Whole-body contrast-enhanced MR angiography was performed in 23 patients at 3.0 T. Images were evaluated by two independent observers for quality on a four-point scale (where a score of 1 indicated poor image quality and a score of 4, excellent image quality); signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were calculated for representative vessel regions in each station. Mean image quality scores were 3.13 +/- 1.15 (standard deviation) and 3.17 +/- 1.14 for observers 1 and 2, respectively (kappa = 0.81). Signal intensity measurements revealed mean SNR values between 36.2 +/- 8.0 and 56.2 +/- 17.7 and mean CNR values between 29.0 +/- 7.4 and 48.2 +/- 15.7. The data suggest that contrast-enhanced MR angiography with iPAT(2) is feasible for whole-body applications and allows acquisition of 3D data sets with adequate spatial resolution within short measurement times, facilitating a single injection of contrast material.