Extracranial atherosclerotic carotid artery disease: evaluation of non-breath-hold three-dimensional gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic information provided by a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight (TOF) techniques with that provided by non-breath-hold 3D spoiled gradient-echo gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Fifty patients suspected of having extracranial atherosclerotic carotid artery disease were examined with all three imaging techniques using a 1.5-T MR imaging system. Three observers independently and retrospectively measured the degree of stenosis according to the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial criteria.

Imaging the vertebral artery

“…This was largely due to a tendency to overestimate the degree of stenosis, the major concern with CE-MRA. This is a well-recognised phenomenon in carotid artery MRA and can be explained by a partial volume artefact when the voxel size is excessive [108,109]. Overestimation may also be explained by the possible reduced concentration of the contrast medium in the poststenotic arterial lumen as a result of altered flow by the stenosis [107].…”

Comparison of Carotid Plaque Ulcer Detection Using Contrast-Enhanced and Time-of-Flight MRA Techniques

“…13,14 Three-dimensional TOF and CE sequences have become standard MRA techniques used for evaluating carotid stenosis, each with specific advantages. TOF-MRA closely approximates catheter-based stenosis measurements [15][16][17] and has the added advantage of not requiring contrast-agent administration, reducing the chance of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with renal insufficiency. Moreover, TOF-MRA is usually acquired through the carotid bifurcation only and with a higher spatial resolution, as CE-MRA is typically optimized for coverage from the aortic arch to the skull base, and this may enhance the ability of TOF-MRA to detect small ulcers.…”

Time-resolved two-dimensional thick-slice magnetic resonance digital subtraction angiography in assessing brain tumors

“…Although non-contrast time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is an established method for non-invasive evaluation of arteries [5,6,7,8], dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE MRA) has rapidly become the technique of choice, not only in the aorta and its branches [9, 10] but also in the neck, pelvis, and extremities [11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21]. Most CE MRAs are performed with three-dimensional (3D) acquisition and development of MR technology has enabled 3D CE MRA with high temporal resolution.…”