MR MICROSCOPY OF THE RAT CAROTID-ARTERY AFTER BALLOON INJURY BY USINGAN IMPLANTED IMAGING COIL

Neointimal hyperplasia after angioplasty was followed in vivo in rats by using MR microscopy and surgically implanted RF imaging coils. By u sing an inductively coupled pick-up coil, the arteries were imaged 4 d ays before and 3, 7, and 14 days after angioplasty with a 3DFT spin ec ho sequence. Eight of 10 angioplastied rats showed moderate to severe stensois based MR measures of lumen diameter reduction from baseline i mages, There was a good correlation between total wall thickness betwe en MR and hematoxylin and eosin (HandE)-stained sections obtained on t he fast day. Arteries in the intact and sham groups remained unchanged from baseline measurements. Because this imaging technique examines t he artery under in vivo conditions of arterial pressure and flow, it p romises to be a useful tool far evaluating pharmacological and mechani cal methods of reducing the incidence of vascular stenosis.