Highly Accelerated Contrast-Enhanced MR Angiography Using Ghost Imaging

Robert R. Edelman^1,2, Ioannis Koktzoglou^1,2

Ghost MRA represents a fundamentally new approach for vascular imaging with potential applications for both non-contrast and contrast-enhanced angiography (CE-MRA). The method involves the creation of a ghost image which displays the vasculature with little or no signal contribution from background tissues. We compared conventional subtraction CE-MRA with Ghost CE-MRA in a series of healthy subjects using comparable image acquisition parameters. We also tested the hypothesis that Ghost imaging enables the use of much higher parallel acceleration factors (up to 13) than are feasible with standard phased array coils using the conventional CE-MRA approach.