Fibrous Cap & Lipid Rich Necrotic Core are Difficult to be Distinguished with Routine Image Weighting at 3T

Rui Li^1,2, Jie Sun², Marina Ferguson², Chun Yuan²

Multi-contrast vessel wall imaging sequences have shown the ability to distinguish different components in carotid plaque by measuring weightings of basic MR constants. The discrimination capability of MRI mainly depends on the differential of MR constants. Previous studies were mainly focused on the image properties to detect different tissue. For example loose matrix represents hypo intensity in T1 weighted image and hyper intensity in T2 weighted image, while calcification shows hypo intensity in T1, T2 and Pd weighted images. In our study, 4 types of tissue in the plaque were compared quantitatively to find out whether they can be distinguished by routine MR sequences on a clinical 3T system.