Positive Iron Contrast by Flow Enhanced Off-Resonance-Saturation for Remote Detection of Iron Based Contrast Agents

Philipp Krmer¹, Xavier Helluy¹, Esra Lang¹, Peter Michael Jakob¹

Hypointense contrast originating from iron-loaded atherosclerotic plaques within a vessel wall have been observed in contrast-enhanced gradient echo based MRA images of vessel lumen, allowing a fast remote detection of iron-loaded plaques. We demonstrate here on a flow phantom how a more specific positive iron contrast mechanism - flow enhanced off-resonance saturation (feORS) -, combined with MRA might facilitate the detection of iron based contrast agents confined within a small vessel wall volume.