Method for rapidly determining and reconstructing the peak arterial frame from a time-resolved CE-MRA exam.

A method that determines the information necessary to reconstruct a single vascular image from a time-resolved CE-MRA exam is presented. Raw k-space d ata are used to approximate the time course of the contrast passage prior t o image reconstruction. The resulting k-space contrast curve is used to sel ect the data corresponding to peak arterial enhancement. These data are rec onstructed and immediately presented for physician review, with the entire time-series of images available at a later time for more detailed diagnosis . This approach dramatically reduces the latency between acquisition of lar ge 4D (3D plus time) data sets and presentation of a diagnostic quality tim e frame. This algorithm has proven successful in the imaging of several ana tomical regions and-in exams that do not require a breath hold-permits the use of an acquisition method that produces a contrast-enhanced angiogram wi thout a timing scan. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.