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Unenhanced calf MR angiography at 3.0 T using electrocardiography-gated partial-fourier fast spin echo imaging with variable flip angle

  • Vascular-Interventional
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Abstract

Objective

This study was to evaluate diagnostic performance of unenhanced electrocardiography-gated fast spin echo based MRA with variable flip angle on 3.0 T for assessment of calf arteries in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD).

Methods

64 patients underwent unenhanced MRA (UE), time-resolved contrast-enhanced MRA of the calf and bolus-chase contrast-enhanced lower peripheral MRA (BCE). Diagnostic performance of UE was evaluated and compared with contrast-enhanced MRA in 61 patients and x-ray angiography in 10 patients.

Results

With UE, 852 of 960 segments (88.75%) were diagnostic even in patients with arrhythmia, demonstrating similar image quality with those on BCE (P > 0.05). For those diagnostic segments, statistics revealed good agreement between unenhanced and contrast-enhanced techniques with a Kappa value of 0.77 and 0.75 for stenosis detection and visualized vessel length, respectively. When using X-ray angiography as reference standard, no significant difference was found between UE and contrast-enhanced MRA concerning sensitivity and specificity in depiction of severe stenosis and occlusion (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Although further technical refinements are required, this optimized UE technique may be used as a supplement to contrast-enhanced MRA particularly in patients with PAOD in whom venous contamination occurs frequently.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Dan Li, Jiang Lin, Fuhua Yan, Qingyuan Wu, Weiwei Lv, Yan San & Hong Yun

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  1. Dan Li
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  2. Jiang Lin
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  3. Fuhua Yan
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  4. Qingyuan Wu
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  5. Weiwei Lv
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  6. Yan San
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  7. Hong Yun
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Correspondence to Jiang Lin.

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Li, D., Lin, J., Yan, F. et al. Unenhanced calf MR angiography at 3.0 T using electrocardiography-gated partial-fourier fast spin echo imaging with variable flip angle. Eur Radiol 21, 1311–1322 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-010-2028-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-010-2028-8

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