Coronary arteries: breath-hold MR angiography

Article Abstract:

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of disease and death in the United States. Presently, coronary angiography is the diagnostic imaging technique of choice for evaluating CAD. Because it requires insertion of a catheter into the coronary vessels, this technique is very invasive and can be painful and risky, as well as expensive. A noninvasive technique is very desirable. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, an imaging technique that uses magnetic properties of tissues to produce images of them, is presently used to evaluate arterial disease in the kidney and brain. This study examined using MR imaging to evaluate CAD. Previous studies have found MR evaluation of coronary arteries to be complicated by respiratory movements. In this study, MR images were taken with an ultrafast technique while subjects held their breath. The technique was performed on 22 healthy adults. While the subjects held a single breath, a number of MR images were taken of sections of the coronary arteries. The sections were 4 millimeters in thickness. Within 10 to 20 minutes time, a sufficient number of sections covering a large portion of the arteries was obtained. When images of the sections were overlapped, the coronary arteries could be depicted. These results indicated that MR imaging has the potential to be very useful in noninvasive evaluation of CAD. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Coronary heart disease, Coronary arteries

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Projection arteriography and venography: initial clinical results with MR

Article Abstract:

Movement of the body, even motion of the internal organs and beating of the heart, degrades the quality of images that are produced in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. One of the most interesting uses for MR imaging is in the evaluation of blood flow eliminating the need for invasive angiography Researchers have developed an imaging technique that permits determination of blood flow direction by limiting the effect of motion during the course of the MR imaging procedure. This new method is useful in obtaining blood vessel images along lines similar to those of arteriograms and venograms, two invasive procedures for viewing blood vessel function. Furthermore, the method may be applied in areas of the body such as the chest, abdomen, and pelvis, where motion is impossible to avoid. This technique compared favorably to computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound. MR blood vessel imaging could have a significant clinical impact but researchers caution that the quality of these images, while good, are still not equal to the resolution of conventional angiograms. Current MR angiographic methods suffer when the blood flow is turbulent. MR angiography is currently used as an additional tool to enhance the clinical information derived from MR studies, rather than as a replacement for conventional angiography.

Research, Evaluation, Blood flow, Measurement, Blood flow measurement

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Perioperative imaging strategies for carotid endarterectomy: an analysis of morbidity and cost-effectiveness in symptomatic patients

Article Abstract:

The combination of duplex sonography (DS) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), backed up by contrast angiography (CA), seems to be associated with fewer deaths and diseases in patients with 70% to 99% carotid stenosis. Stenosis is the narrowing of an artery or other passage in the body. Eighty-one symptomatic patients for atherosclerotic occlusive disease underwent DS, MRA, and CA to evaluate them for carotid endarterectomy, an operation which surgically removes plaque from the arteries. The combination therapy appeared to be more effective than using contrast angiography alone, and is recommended for patients with symptomatic carotid disease.

Planning, Surgery, Endarterectomy, Medical imaging equipment, Carotid artery, Carotid arteries, Duplex ultrasonography

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