ABSTRACT
In imaging using contrast-enhanced three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (CE-3DMRA), optimizing the delay time from the start of intravenous injection of contrast medium to the start of scanning has generally been an important concern when obtaining blood vessel images of good contrast. Recent methods of mechanically assessing the attainment of contrast medium injection include Smart-Prep and others. Another method is the Test Bolus, in which a small amount of contrast medium determines the timing of scan start, in quest of the time intensity curve. Because these methods are not necessarily satisfactory, the corrected method is used in clinical cases. In terms of how scan timing affects blood vessel depiction, no study has examined pulsatile flow, which is carried out by simulation. On the other hand, there are reports on data filling of k-space using imitation blood vessels on a computer and simple experimental equipment. This research examined experimentally blood vessel depiction according to scan timing and the diameter of blood vessels by using a systemic circulation simulator that incorporated hemodynamic circulation in which pulsatile flow is the same as that of a human body, using an artificial heart developed especially for MRI. It is thought that scan timing in CE-3DMRA affects the depiction of blood vessels for which the diameter of the blood vessel differs from the experimental result. Phase-encoding k-space data filling is the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of each blood vessel irrespective of sequential and centric k-space ordering. The timing shift phenomenon, in which a blood vessel is so thin that the scan timing is overdue and shows a relatively high value, can occur. Moreover, that scan timing affects not only the diameter of a blood vessel but also depiction of the narrowing of a stenotic blood vessel or a branch blood vessel was demonstrated clinically and experimentally. Therefore, blood vessel depiction changes with scan timing, and it is clinically important to determine the time of arrival of contrast medium and the duration of the enhancement effect in quest of the time intensity curve by test bolus when clearly describing the target blood vessel.
