CONTRAST-ENHANCED MR-ANGIOGRAPHY OF THE P ERIPHERAL VESSELS

Currently 2D time-of-flight MR angiography (MRA) is most commonly used for the evaluation of the extremities. The major limitation is their susceptibility to signal loss from intravoxel phase dispersion. This l eads to overestimation in the grading of stenoses. Further difficultie s are motion artifacts and the limited spatial resolution. Phase-contr ast MRA is increasingly used. However further studies are required to verify its diagnostic potential. MRA technology continues to advance r apidly. Stronger gradient fields, shorter echo times and high resoluti on surface coils ape developed. Contrast medium can be applied under s tandardized conditions with MR compatible power injectors. In phantom studies, the contrast-enhanced gradient echo sequences show reduced ph ase dispersion, resulting in an improved grading of stenoses. initial patient studies underline these findings. Contrast-enhanced MR angiogr aphy has the potential to replace invasive arteriography in the evalua tion of peripheral arterial vessels in the near future.