[Magnetic resonance imaging of stents: quantitative in vitro examination at 3 Tesla]

The aim of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively study MR artifacts of various stents on the basis of in vitro experiments. We were particularly interested whether sequence type and orientation of the stent with respect to the static magnetic field influences the artifact.

We examined 18 stents of different material (nitinol, stainless steel, cobalt alloy), different design of the stent meshes (AccuLink, OmniLink, DynaLink, Xact, Protoge, Wallstent Monorail), different diameter (5-10mm) and different length (18-58 mm) with a turbo spin echo (TSE), a 2D-fast low angle shot (FLASH) and a 3D-FLASH sequence. The MR images were examined qualitatively with respect to possible artifacts. Furthermore we examined the MR data quantitatively: The contrast-noise-ratio (CNR) was determined both within the stent and outside (within the tube); based on these values we calculated the transparency factor P, furthermore we calculated the apparent vascular lumen within the tube and within the stent.

The stents made of stainless steel and cobalt alloy displayed severe susceptibility artifacts. Therefore the vessel lumen within the stent could not be assessed. The nitinol stents showed different artifact patterns: The AccuLink and DynaLink stents showed less artifacts compared to the Xact and Protoge stents. Besides the susceptibility artifacts we found artifacts due to RF shielding by the stent mesh, particularly in TSE sequences.

A MR control of patients after stenting is possible and may yield diagnostic information when using the AccuLink or DynaLink stents. However, it is important to make sure that the stent is MR safe for the field strength used for the examination.