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Unenhanced calf MR angiography at 3.0 T using electrocardiography-gated partial-fourier fast spin echo imaging with

Dan Li1, Jiang Lin, Fuhua Yan

  • 1Department of Radiology, Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.

European Radiology
|December 15, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Unenhanced MRA (UE) shows high diagnostic performance for calf arteries in peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) patients. This technique offers comparable image quality to contrast-enhanced MRA, serving as a valuable supplement.

Area of Science:

  • Radiology
  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Medical Imaging Techniques

Background:

  • Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) affects lower limb circulation.
  • Contrast-enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) is standard for PAOD assessment but carries risks.
  • Venous contamination is a common issue in CE-MRA of calf arteries.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the diagnostic performance of unenhanced MRA (UE-MRA) using electrocardiography-gated fast spin echo with variable flip angle on 3.0 T.
  • To assess UE-MRA for imaging calf arteries in patients with PAOD.
  • To compare UE-MRA with contrast-enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) and X-ray angiography.

Main Methods:

  • 64 patients with PAOD underwent UE-MRA.
  • Time-resolved CE-MRA and bolus-chase CE-MRA of the calf were also performed.
  • Diagnostic performance of UE-MRA was compared to CE-MRA (n=61) and X-ray angiography (n=10).

Main Results:

  • 88.75% of arterial segments assessed with UE-MRA were diagnostic, even in patients with arrhythmia.
  • Image quality of UE-MRA was comparable to CE-MRA (P > 0.05).
  • High agreement (Kappa 0.77-0.75) was found between UE-MRA and CE-MRA for stenosis detection and vessel length; sensitivity and specificity were similar to CE-MRA compared to X-ray angiography.

Conclusions:

  • Optimized UE-MRA demonstrates strong diagnostic performance for calf arteries in PAOD.
  • UE-MRA provides image quality comparable to CE-MRA.
  • This technique can supplement CE-MRA, especially in patients prone to venous contamination.
Abstract

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