Abstract
BackgroundPre-clinical detection of atherosclerosis enables personalized preventive strategies in asymptomatic individuals. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has evolved as an attractive imaging modality for studying atherosclerosis in vivo. Yet, the majority of aortic CMR studies and proposed sequences to date have been performed at 1.5 tesla using 2D BB techniques and a slice thickness of 4–5 mm. Here, we evaluate for the first time the reproducibility of an isotropic, T1-weighted, three-dimensional, black-blood, CMR VISTA sequence (3D-T1-BB-VISTA) for quantification of aortic wall characteristics in healthy, young adults.MethodsIn 20 healthy, young adults (10 males, mean age 31.3 years) of the AMBITYON cohort study the descending thoracic aorta was imaged with a 3.0 T MR system using the 3D-T1-BB-VISTA sequence. The inter-scan, inter-rater and intra-rater reproducibility of aortic lumen, total vessel and wall area and mean and maximum wall thickness was evaluated using Bland-Altman analyses and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC). Based on these findings, sample sizes for detecting differences in aortic wall characteristics between groups were calculated.ResultsFor each studied parameter, the inter-scan, inter-rater and intra-rater reproducibility was excellent as indicated by narrow limits of agreement and high ICCs (ranging from 0.76 to 0.99). Sample sizes required to detect a 5 % difference in aortic wall characteristics between two groups were 203, 126, 136, 68 and 153 per group for lumen area, total vessel area and vessel wall area and for mean and maximum vessel wall thickness, respectively.ConclusionThe 3D-T1-BB-VISTA sequence provides excellent reproducibility for quantification of aortic wall characteristics and can detect small differences between groups with reasonable sample sizes. Hence, it may be a valuable tool for assessment of the subtle vascular wall changes of early atherosclerosis in asymptomatic populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12968-016-0237-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Pre-clinical detection of atherosclerosis enables personalized preventive strategies in asymptomatic individuals
Study population and design The study cohort consisted of healthy, young adults participating in the Atherosclerosis Monitoring and Biomarker measurements In The YOuNg (AMBITYON)
The present study demonstrated that the 3D-T1-BBVISTA sequence is highly reproducible and well-suited for quantification of aortic wall characteristics in young adults
Summary
Pre-clinical detection of atherosclerosis enables personalized preventive strategies in asymptomatic individuals. The majority of aortic CMR studies and proposed sequences to date have been performed at 1.5 tesla using 2D BB techniques and a slice thickness of 4–5 mm. Atherosclerosis, the underlying pathophysiological condition, is a slowly progressive, inflammatory process that causes adverse remodelling of the arterial wall. The slowly progressive changes in the arterial wall attributed to atherosclerosis provide a window of opportunity for its pre-clinical detection. Most CMR studies have used 2D sequences at a field strength of 1.5 tesla (T), limiting both spatial resolution and aortic coverage due to time constraints. There is ongoing development of sequences that aim to optimize image quality whilst covering a larger extent of the aorta with clinically acceptable scan duration [10,11,12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
