OPTIMIZED VISUALIZATION OF VESSELS IN CONTRAST-ENHANCED INTRACRANIAL MR-ANGIOGRAPHY

In this study, the problem of small vessel visualization in magnetic r esonance angiography is addressed. The loss of vessel contrast due to slow flow-related signal saturation can be compensated by the T-1 redu ction obtained from the use of an MR contrast agent, such as Gd-DTPA, The vessel/background signal-difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR) is shown to strongly depend on the imaging parameters, as well as on the time course of the blood T-1 values obtained from the contrast injection, S pecifically, it was found that vessel SDNR increases almost linearly w ith TR, if the sampling bandwidth is reduced proportionately.