CLINICAL UTILITY OF CONTRAST-ENHANCED MR-ANGIOGRAPHY

MR angiography (MRA) is a technique under ongoing discussion. Its non- invasiveness and sensitivity to flow irregularities make it an investi gational technique which is easy to apply but which does not always le ad to comprehensive results. It requires special skill to perform and also experience for correct interpretation of the results. The lengthi ness of the procedure combined with certain physical properties tends to limit its use to mostly neurovascular applications. With the introd uction of ultrafast MRA in conjunction with peripheral bolus-injection of extracellular contrast media, a new approach to the imaging of suc h regions as the thoracic and abdominal vasculature not to mention oth er vascular territories has become possible. In this paper, considerat ions of bolus and measurement optimization and timing protocols for de dicated indications are presented together with an overview on the exp erience acquired to date for CE-MRA of the carotid artery, mediastinal and pulmonary vessels: abdominal vasculature, and peripheral vessels. The main advantage of ultrafast CE-MRA is that patients are subjected to much more tolerable breath-hold investigations with the result tha t physiological motion such as peristalsis or major pulsation is minim ised.