Single breath-hold extended free-breathing navigator-gated three-dimensional coronary MRA

Purpose To acquire the center of k‐space while extending three‐dimensional free‐breathing navigator‐gated coronary magnetic resonance (MR) angiography by an initial single breath‐hold. Materials and Methods This approach was successfully applied in eight healthy adult subjects. Resulting images were compared with conventionally acquired free‐breathing navigator‐gated MR angiograms. Results The acquisition of k‐space center during the single breath‐hold resulted in a 26% increase (P < 0.05) of signal‐to‐noise ratio. Visible length of the right coronary artery, as well as contrast‐to‐noise ratio between the blood and the myocardial muscle, were identical. Conclusion The breath‐hold extension was shown to be a valuable technique that may be combined with first‐pass contrast‐enhanced MR imaging. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;15:210–214. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.