Yijing Wu1, Kevin Johnson1,
Steven Kecskemeti, Charles A. Mistretta2, Patrick A. Turski
1Medical Physics,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, MADISON, WI, United States; 2Medical
Physics & Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Time-resolved contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (TR CE MRA) of the brain is challenging due to the need for rapid imaging and high spatial resolution. An innovative technique is presented to split a single dose contrast into two injections. The first small contrast volume (2~3 ml) will be used for acquiring time-resolved weighting images with high frame rate and the rest of contrast agent will be used for a high resolution CE MRA as the spatial constraint. Using HYPR reconstruction, the final images (HYPR CE) will have both high temporal and spatial resolution, but not suffer the flow-sensitive artifacts and increase of contrast dosage. Furthermore, volunteer studies demonstrate that reduced contrast dose from the first injection significantly improves the arterial and venous separation.