Abstract #1335

Assessment of the Neovascularisation of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque in Symptomatic Patients at 3T by DCE-MRI: Feasibility Study

N. Jane Taylor¹, Vicky J. Goh¹, J James Stirling¹, Ian Simcock¹, Matthew Orton², David J. Collins², Ralph Strecker³, Leon Menezes⁴, Justin Cross⁵, Carl W. Kotze⁶, Syed W. Yusuf⁶, Ashley M. Groves⁴

¹Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 2RN, UK; ²CR-UK Clinical MR Research Group, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, UK; ³Healthcare Sector, Siemens AG, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; ⁴University College Hospital, London, UK; ⁵Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK; ⁶Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, Brighton, UK

The purpose was to prospectively assess the neovascularisation of symptomatic carotid plaques using DCE-MRI at 3T. 9 patients (8 male; mean 71 years) presenting with transient ischaemic attack, with significant stenoses on Doppler ultrasound and awaiting carotid endarterectomy underwent 3T DCE-MRI following injection of 0.1mmol/kg Gd-DTPA (dynamic 3D VIBE sequence, 5.3s interval, 70 acquisitions). Semiquantitative (IAUGC₆₀; peak gadolinium concentration (mmol); time to peak (s), maximal gradient) and quantitative (K^trans, v_e, k_ep, v_p) parameters were obtained following motion correction and image registration. Mean K^trans, v_e, k_ep were 0.74, 0.28, 2.33 respectively. 3T DCE-MRI plaque assessment is feasible.