High spatial resolution contrast-enhanced MR angiography of the supraaortic arteries using the quadrature body coil at 3.0T: A feasibility study

To examine whether the the increased signal-to-noise (S/N) available at 3.0T would permit the use of the quadrature body coil for high spatial resolution contrast-enhanced (CE) MR angiography (MRA), and whether the large FOV that was used in our routine 1.5T protocol would also be feasible at 3.0T. In a prospective study, 43 patients and five volunteers were examined on a clinical whole-body 3.0T MR unit (Intera, Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands) after institutional review board approval and informed consent. Three-dimensional CE MRA (T1 gradient echo-sequence with TR/TE = 5.7/1.93 msec.; acquisition time, 1:54 min.) using randomly segmented central k-space ordering (CENTRA) was acquired with the quadrature body coil, using over a FOV of 350 mm. A high-image matrix of 432×432 yielded a non-zero filled voxel size of 0.81 mm × 0.81 mm × 1.0 mm (0.66 mm³). For quantitative analysis, contrast ratios (CR) between vessels (S) and signal in surrounding tissue (ST) were calculated [(S−ST)/(S+ST)]. For qualitative analysis, image quality and presence of artifacts were rated by two radiologists in consensus on a five-point scale (1=excellent to 5=nondiagnostic). Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) served as the standard of reference in patients with vascular disease. In the five volunteers, 1.5T CE MRA using a phased array neurovascular coil was available for intraindividual comparison. 3.0T CE MRA was successfully performed in 48/48 subjects (100%). Mean CR± SD were 0.76 (139.30/182.42) and 0.87 (235.18/270.14) at 3.0T and 1.5T respectively .Mean image quality was 3.82±0.86. Intraindividual comparison between 1.5T and 3.0T CE MRA in the volunteers revealed no significant difference in image quality (4.2±0.74 vs 4.6±0.80; p>0.05). Vascular disease was correctly identified in 13/13 patients with DSA correlation. CE MRA of the supraaortic arteries is feasible at 3.0T using a large FOV of 350 mm. The signal gain at 3.0T enables high spatial resolution contrast-enhanced MR angiography by using the built-in quadrature body coil only.