Three-dimensional fluid-suppressed T2-prep flow-independent peripheral angiography using balanced SSFP.

Area of Science:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Vascular Imaging
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Accurate depiction of peripheral vessels requires suppressing bright signals from lipids and long-T1 fluids.
• Desirable imaging characteristics include flow-independent signal, good arterial/muscle contrast, and arterial/venous separation.
• Balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) offers high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), short scan times, and favorable flow properties for angiography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel magnetization-prepared 3D SSFP sequence for flow-independent peripheral angiography.
• To achieve high-contrast imaging of lower leg, foot, and hand vasculature.
• To minimize scan time penalty compared to standard 3D SSFP.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new 3D SSFP sequence incorporating phase-sensitive fat suppression, inversion recovery, and T2-preparation.
• Utilized square-spiral phase-encode ordering for efficient data acquisition.
• Performed parameter optimization and preliminary testing on a normal foot.

Main Results:

• The developed sequence achieved high-contrast peripheral angiograms.
• Demonstrated 1-mm isotropic resolution in imaging of a normal foot.
• The technique incurred only a modest scan time increase over simple 3D SSFP.

Conclusions:

• The presented magnetization-prepared 3D SSFP sequence is effective for flow-independent peripheral angiography.
• This technique offers improved visualization of peripheral vasculature, beneficial for clinical diagnosis.
• The method provides high contrast and resolution with acceptable scan times.