Unenhanced MR angiography of the renal arteries with balanced steady-state free precession dixon method.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a novel technique for fat-water separation to image the renal arteries without using a contrast agent. CONCLUSION: Five healthy volunteers were imaged on a 3-T clinical MR scanner using the balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) Dixon method. We were able to image the proximal renal arteries with high conspicuity within a 3-minute overall scanning time. The balanced-SSFP Dixon method shows potential for unenhanced MR angiography of the proximal renal arteries.