Houman Mahallati1,2, Michel Louis Lauzon1,2, Linda Andersen1,2, Richard Frayne1,2
1Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; 2Seaman Family MR Research Centre, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary Health Region, Calgary, AB, Canada
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third most common cause of death in the United States. The prevailing sources of emboli emanate from lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT). PE is present in 60-80% of patients with DVT, although more than half of patients are asymptomatic. The clinical standard for identifying DVT is compression ultrasound, but imaging is typically limited to the thighs since the smaller calf veins are more difficult to visualize. Calf DVTs are, however, hypothesized to be clinically important, and so we are investigating high-resolution non-contrast-enhanced thrombus MR imaging from the thighs to the calves.