Abstract
PurposeTo develop a 3D whole‐heart Bright‐blood and black‐blOOd phase SensiTive (BOOST) inversion recovery sequence for simultaneous noncontrast enhanced coronary lumen and thrombus/hemorrhage visualization.MethodsThe proposed sequence alternates the acquisition of two bright‐blood datasets preceded by different preparatory pulses to obtain variations in blood/myocardium contrast, which then are combined in a phase‐sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR)‐like reconstruction to obtain a third, coregistered, black‐blood dataset. The bright‐blood datasets are used for both visualization of the coronary lumen and motion estimation, whereas the complementary black‐blood dataset potentially allows for thrombus/hemorrhage visualization. Furthermore, integration with 2D image‐based navigation enables 100% scan efficiency and predictable scan times. The proposed sequence was compared to conventional coronary MR angiography (CMRA) and PSIR sequences in a standardized phantom and in healthy subjects. Feasibility for thrombus depiction was tested ex vivo.ResultsWith BOOST, the coronary lumen is visualized with significantly higher (P < 0.05) contrast‐to‐noise ratio and vessel sharpness when compared to conventional CMRA. Furthermore, BOOST showed effective blood signal suppression as well as feasibility for thrombus visualization ex vivo.ConclusionA new PSIR sequence for noncontrast enhanced simultaneous coronary lumen and thrombus/hemorrhage detection was developed. The sequence provided improved coronary lumen depiction and showed potential for thrombus visualization. Magn Reson Med 79:1460–1472, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Highlights
Coronary artery disease (CAD) primarily is caused by the formation and progressive growth of atherosclerotic plaque, which can lead to the narrowing of one or several of the coronary arteries and subsequent angina [1]
We propose a novel 3D whole-heart noncontrast enhanced Bright-blood and black-blOOd phase SensiTive (BOOST) inversion recovery (IR) sequence for simultaneous coronary lumen and coronary thrombus/intraplaque hemorrhage visualization
For the BOOST sequence (Figs. 2a,b), and in correspondence to odd heartbeats (T2PrepIR BOOST), the expected magnetization Mz/M0 of blood varied between À0.2741 and À0.1452 during image acquisition, whereas the expected magnetization Mz/M0 of the myocardium varied between À0.1028 and 0.0548, with zero crossing occurring during the interval of imaging data collection
Summary
Coronary artery disease (CAD) primarily is caused by the formation and progressive growth of atherosclerotic plaque, which can lead to the narrowing of one or several of the coronary arteries and subsequent angina [1]. A major challenge of CAD diagnosis remains that 50% of patients experiencing myocardial infarction have angiographically normal coronary arteries and no previous symptoms. Plaque growth may occur with preserved coronary lumen size, called “outward or positive arterial remodeling” [2], evading detection by luminographic imaging techniques. In size its tissue composition changes and may lead to plaque destabilization and eventually rupture, causing myocardial infarction or stroke due to occlusive thrombosis. The ideal diagnostic test for CAD should simultaneously and noninvasively provide location/degree of lumen stenosis and detection/characterization of coronary plaque and thrombus
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
