Contrast-Enhanced Peripheral MR Angiography from the Abdominal Aorta to the Pedal Arteries: Combined Dynamic Two-Dimensional and Bolus-Chase Three-Dimensional Acquisitions

Wang Y, Winchester PA, Khilnani NM, et al. Contrast-enhanced peripheral MR angiography from the abdominal aorta to the pedal arteriesCombined dynamic two-dimensional and bolus-chase three-dimensional acquisitions. Invest Radiol 2001;36:170–177. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. To obtain reliable contrast-enhanced peripheral MR angiography for imaging peripheral vascular disease from the abdominal aorta to the pedal arteries. METHODS.A protocol consisting of contrast-enhanced, dynamic two-dimensional (2D) acquisition at the feet and calf and bolus-chase three-dimensional (3D) acquisition from the abdominal aorta to the calf was developed and applied in patients with peripheral vascular disease. The performance of this integrated protocol was assessed in 89 consecutive patients. RESULTS.The bolus-chase 3D acquisition was of diagnostic quality in 100% of the acquisitions in the abdomen, 96% in the thigh, and 43% in the calf. The poor quality of the calf acquisitions was due to insufficient spatial resolution, poor arterial signal, and venous contamination. Diagnostic-quality images were obtained in 100% of the dynamic 2D acquisitions of the calf and 98% of the feet. CONCLUSIONS.The combined dynamic 2D and bolus-chase 3D contrast-enhanced MR angiography technique provides diagnostic images of the entire lower extremity.