Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop a novel technique for acquiring 3-dimensional (3D) coronary CINE magnetic resonance images with both water and fat visualization during free breathing and without external respiratory or cardiac gating. The implemented multi-echo hybrid 3D radial balanced Steady-State Free Precession (SSFP) sequence has an efficient data acquisition and is robust against motion. The k-space center along the slice encoding direction was repeatedly acquired to derive both respiratory and cardiac self-gating signals without an increase in scan time, enabling a free-breathing acquisition. The multi-echo acquisition allowed image reconstruction with water-fat separation, providing improved visualization of the coronary artery lumen. Ten healthy subjects were imaged successfully at 1.5 T, achieving a spatial resolution of 1.0×1.0×3.0 mm3 and scan time of about 5 minutes. The proposed imaging technique provided coronary vessel depiction comparable to that obtained with conventional breath-hold imaging and navigator gated free-breathing imaging.
Highlights
Coronary magnetic resonance angiography (CMRA) has been highly desired because of its potential clinical significance for managing coronary artery disease [1]
Conventional CMRA acquisitions are usually triggered by the electrocardiographic (ECG) signal and data acquisition is confined to the mid-diastolic period of the cardiac cycle when the heart is relatively at rest
Conventional single-cardiac-phase coronary imaging would ideally require the precise estimation of patient- and vessel branchspecific trigger delay and acquisition window, which is difficult and can be time-consuming
Summary
Coronary magnetic resonance angiography (CMRA) has been highly desired because of its potential clinical significance for managing coronary artery disease [1]. Conventional CMRA acquisitions are usually triggered by the electrocardiographic (ECG) signal and data acquisition is confined to the mid-diastolic period of the cardiac cycle when the heart is relatively at rest. As this period is variable with a changing heart rate, a precise subject-dependent ECG trigger delay needs to be determined. Different segments of the coronary anatomy may be quiescent at different points in the cardiac cycle [2] To overcome these problems, the ability to image the coronary arteries throughout the cardiac cycle (coronary CINE imaging) is highly desired
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