ARTERIAL IMAGING - COMPARISON OF HIGH-RESOLUTION US AND MR-IMAGING WITH HISTOLOGIC CORRELATION

The potential roles of intravascular ultrasound (US) and magnetic reso nance (MR) imaging in evaluating the artery wall and atherosclerotic p laque were compared. Excised human femoral and carotid arteries were i maged with a 42-MHz intravascular US system and a 1.5-T MR imager equi pped with enhanced gradients. In-plane resolution was 40-280 mu m for US and 156 mu m for MR imaging. Stained histologic tissue sections wer e obtained for correlation with the imaging findings. Intravascular US and MR imaging both had sufficient resolution and contrast to demonst rate arterial layers and allow distinction of atheroma. Correspondence between structures identified with the two modalities was excellent a nd in agreement with histologically defined arterial structures. Findi ngs on state-of-the-art intravascular US and MR images correlate well with histologic findings in normal and diseased arteries. Intravascula r US has the advantages of speed and resolution, whereas MR imaging de monstrates superior contrast in the depiction of atheroma.