Steady-state magnetic resonance angiography of the thoracic vasculature in congenital heart disease using a blood pool contrast agent: evaluation of two different techniques

The following vessels were scored on an image quality scale of 1-4: aortic root, ascending aorta, aortic arch, descending aorta, main pulmonary trunk, right pulmonary artery, left pulmonary artery, superior vena cava, inferior vena cava. Of note, the patient has a right mediastinal cystic structure causing external compression of the right lung. [figure omitted; refer to PDF] Conclusions SS-MRA using either IR-FLASH or IR-SSFP was comparable to FP-MRA for measurement of aortic dimensions, but it was better to assess congenital heart diseases.