Background-Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided coronary artery stent placement is a challenging vascular intervention because of the small size of the coronary arteries combined with incessant motion during the respiratory and cardiac cycles. These obstacles necessitate higher temporal and higher spatial resolution real-time MR imaging techniques when compared with interventional peripheral MR angiography. Methods and Results-A new, ultrafast, real-time MR imaging technique that combines steady-state free precession (SSFP) for high signal-to-noise ratio and radial k-space sampling (rSSFP) for motion artifact suppression was implemented on a 1.5-T clinical whole-body interventional MR scanner. The sliding window reconstruction technique yielded a frame rate of 15/s allowing for data acquisition during free breathing and without cardiac triggering. Eleven balloon-expandable stainless steel coronary stents were placed in both coronary arteries of 7 pigs (40 to 70 kg body weight) using a nitinol guidewire and passive device visualization. Position of the coronary stents was controlled by a navigator-gated free-breathing ECG-triggered three-dimensional SSFP coronary MRA sequence and confirmed visually on the ex vivo heart. The presented real-time MR imaging sequence reliably allowed for high-quality coronary MR fluoroscopy without motion artifacts in all pigs. Ten of 11 coronary stents were correctly placed under MR guidance. One stent dislodged proximally from the left main coronary artery because of too-small balloon size. Stent dislocation was correctly predicted during real-time MR imaging. Conclusion-The presented approach allows for real-time MR-guided coronary artery stent placement in a swine model.

Independent of the scanner hardware or dedicated convolution kernels, routine evaluation of most coronary artery stents is not yet feasible using MSCT.

On the basis of our preliminary data, we believe that, in selected patients, intraoperative balloon angioplasty of stenosis of the innominate artery with stent placement from the right common carotid artery approach is a safe and effective alternative to conventional operations.

Background-Coronary in-stent restenosis cannot be directly assessed by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) because of the local signal void of currently used stainless steel stents. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of a new, dedicated, coronary MR imaging (MRI) stent for artifact-free, coronary MRA and in-stent lumen and vessel wall visualization. Methods and Results-Fifteen prototype stents were deployed in coronary arteries of 15 healthy swine and investigated with a double-oblique, navigator-gated, free-breathing, T2-prepared, 3D cartesian gradient-echo sequence; a T2-prepared, 3D spiral gradient-echo sequence; and a T2-prepared, 3D steady-state, free-precession coronary MRA sequence. Furthermore, black-blood vessel wall imaging by a dual-inversion-recovery, turbo spin-echo sequence was performed. Artifacts of the stented vessel segment and signal intensities of the coronary vessel lumen inside and outside the stent were assessed. With all investigated sequences, the vessel lumen and wall could be visualized without artifacts, including the stented vessel segment. No signal intensity alterations inside the stent when compared with the vessel lumen outside the stent were found. Conclusions-The new, coronary MRI stent allows for completely artifact-free coronary MRA and vessel wall imaging.

Background-Metallic stents cause susceptibility and radiofrequency artifacts on MR images, which, up to now, have not allowed for complete visualization of the stent lumen by MR angiography. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of a new dedicated renal MRI stent for artifact-free in-stent lumen visualization in vitro and in a swine model. Methods and Results-In vitro investigations were performed with prototypes of balloon-expandable AachenResonance Renal MRI Stents dilated to diameters of 3 to 6 mm and placed in an aqueous gadolinium solution (1:25). Phase-contrast and contrast-enhanced T 1 -weighted gradient echo images were acquired. Renal MRI stents (nϭ12) were deployed in the renal arteries of 6 pigs. Renal arteries were examined with phase-contrast angiography and with flow measurements before and after stent placement in the stented area, respectively. Additionally, a contrast-enhanced, T 1 -weighted, spoiled-gradient echo sequence after administration of 0.2 mmol gadolinium-DTPA/kg body weight was performed after stent placement. The visibility of artifacts was analyzed on in vitro and in vivo images by two investigators who knew the stent positions. Stent positions were determined visually (in vitro) or by x-ray angiography (animal experiments). No artifacts were detected independent of the applied imaging sequence and the stent orientation to the main magnetic field. Conclusion-The examined prototypes of fully MR-compatible MRI stents allow artifact-free visualization of the stent lumen with phase-contrast and contrast-enhanced T 1 -weighted angiography, as well as phase-contrast flow measurements in the stented area.

On the basis of the preliminary data, the authors believe that the percutaneous closure of arteriovenous fistulas with stent-grafts is a safe and effective alternative to conventional surgery.

All 3 prototypes of coronary MR stents allowed complete visualization of the stent lumen and consequently determination of stent patency by cMRA.

To evaluate the feasibility of percutaneous treatment of iliac aneurysms, a covered stent was inserted in nine men suffering from common iliac artery aneurysms (six cases), external iliac aneurysms (one case), or pseudoaneurysms (two cases). Placement of the stent was successful in all patients. In one patient, an endoprosthesis thrombosed after 15 days, but was successfully treated by thrombolysis and additional stent placement. At the follow-up examinations (mean period 22 months) all stent-grafts had remained patent. No late leakage or stenosis was observed.