Interactive two-dimensional fresh blood imaging: a feasibility study.

Abstract

This paper presents work on interactive 2D projection magnetic resonance angiography, based on fresh blood imaging (FBI), which integrates navigation and triggering optimisation into a continuous fluoroscopic procedure. The technique was developed on a clinical 1.5-T MRI system and performed in five healthy volunteers. Initial feasibility study compared FBI projection angiograms with maximum intensity projection reformats from multi-slice, ECG-gated, 2D time-of-flight (TOF) in the lower peripheral arteries. A technical performance evaluation of 40 vessel segments showed that FBI generated angiograms of comparable diagnostic quality (P < 0.074) with fewer artefacts (P < 0.003). Quantitative vessel-to-background contrast measurements were higher in FBI (P < 0.014). The technique has potential application as an interactive vascular imaging tool in interventional or multi-location MRI examinations.