Ruth P. Lim1, Pippa Storey1, Iliyana P. Atanasova1, Jian Xu2, elizabeth m. Hecht1, David R. Stoffel1, Hugo Chang2, Kellyanne Mcgorty1, qun Chen1, henry Rusinek1, H Michael Belmont3, Vivian S. Lee1
1Radiology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, USA; 2Siemens Medical Solutions, New York, USA; 3Rheumatology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, USA
Slow arterial flow, small vessel caliber and short arteriovenous transit times make hand MRA challenging. We present our initial experience with an ECG-triggered variable flip angle 3D fast spin echo (SPACE) MRA technique at 3T in 9 subjects. Two volunteers also underwent assessment of vascular reactivity, with MRA obtained following cooling. Two radiologists in consensus evaluated image quality and vessel visualization. Image quality was generally excellent or satisfactory, with high vessel conspicuity, including visualization of the distal digital arteries. Following cooling challenge, fewer vessel segments were visualized and were of smaller caliber.