Magnetic resonance angiography for head and neck arteries of bama minipig / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To display the normal vascular structures of head and neck of Bama minipig by three-dimensional time-of-flight (3D TOF) and time-resolved imaging of contrast kinetics (TRICKS) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and to compare and analyze the imaging indicators of arteries, so as to provide references for large animal models of cerebrovascular disease. Methods 3D TOF and TRICKS MRA of head and neck vessels in 3 healthy Bama minipigs were performed using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance system. The artery definition scores of the two MRA methods were compared, and the contrast ratio (CR), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the main arteries were calculated for quantitative analysis. Results In terms of artery definition, 3D TOF MRA and TRICKS MRA both achieved high scores for the common carotid arteries and external carotid arterial system, but low scores for posterior circulation. 3D TOF MRA was significantly better than TRICKS MRA in displaying the intracranial artery system (1.60±0.50 vs 1.37±0.49, P＝0.019 8). Quantitative analysis showed that TRICKS MRA improved CR of arteries to different extents; however, there were no significant differences in SNR or CNR between 3D TOF and TRICKS MRA (P0.05). Conclusion Both 3D TOF and TRICKS MRA have good and comparable diagnostic performance for common carotid arteries and their main branch structures of Bama minipig, and each method has its advantages and limitations.