Cystic Adventitial Disease and High Spatial Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

I read a recent publication on 3.0-Tesla high–spatial-resolution magnetic resonance imaging with great interest. 1 Loffroy R. Rao P. Krausé D. Steinmetz E. Use of 3.0-Tesla high spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis and treatment of cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery. Ann Vasc Surg. 2011; 25: 385 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (8) Google Scholar In the article, Loffroy et al. reported on the possible usefulness of this tool. 1 Loffroy R. Rao P. Krausé D. Steinmetz E. Use of 3.0-Tesla high spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis and treatment of cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery. Ann Vasc Surg. 2011; 25: 385 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (8) Google Scholar However, I have some concerns regarding this work. Indeed, the usage of this technique is widely reported for its effectiveness. 2 Tomasian A. Lai C. Finn J.P. et al. Cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery: features on 3T cardiovascular magnetic resonance. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2008; 10: 38 Crossref PubMed Scopus (27) Google Scholar However, an important point to be concerned about is the noise. In the data collection progressing, the noise can be expected, and this can result in motion artifacts. It is noted that “any increase in the spatial resolution results in a decrease of the signal-to-noise ratio. 3 Lohmann G. Bohn S. Müller K. et al. Image restoration and spatial resolution in 7-tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Magn Reson Med. 2010; 64: 15-22 Crossref PubMed Scopus (20) Google Scholar ” In high spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging, trade-off between high spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio is a challenging problem for anyone. 4 Christodoulou A.G. Brinegar C. Haldar J.P. et al. High-resolution cardiac MRI using partially separable functions and weighted spatial smoothness regularization. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2010; 2010: 871-874 PubMed Google Scholar Signal detection is usually problematic. Furthermore, the limited imaging speed is another important concern. 4 Christodoulou A.G. Brinegar C. Haldar J.P. et al. High-resolution cardiac MRI using partially separable functions and weighted spatial smoothness regularization. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2010; 2010: 871-874 PubMed Google Scholar Nevertheless, overestimation of the vessel area can be expected. 5 Szarf G. Dori Y. Rettmann D. et al. Zero filled partial fourier phase contrast MR imaging: in vitro and in vivo assessment. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2006; 23: 42-49 Crossref PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar Blurring of vessel margins is also a common problem to be considered. For sure, this might lead to incorrect estimation of extension of cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery. Connections between cysts in the adventitia and the adjacent joint might be incorrectly defined, and an incorrect treatment plan might be expected.