Distribution of Intraplaque Calcification in the Femoral Artery: A Multi-Contrast MRI Study

Feiyu Li¹, Chun Yuan¹, Marina Ferguson¹, Dongxiang Xu¹, Xihai Zhao¹, Mary McGrae McDermott²

Analyzing the distribution of intraplaque components is helpful to predict prognosis of atherosclerosis plaques. Various imaging techniques, such as MRI and IVUS, have been extensively developed in this field. But only limited studies have been conducted on peripheral artery lesions. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of intraplaque calcification (Ca) in femoral artery using multi-contrast MRI. The results show the difference of calcification distribution in different arterial locations and NWI groups. It seems the distribution of calcification in femoral artery atherosclerosis is strongly associated with the arterial segment and plaque burden.