Highly Accelerated Non Contrast Enhanced MRA of the Lower Extremity Arteries at 3 Tesla Using an ECG-Triggered Variable Flip Angle 3D Fast Spin Echo (SPACE) Sequence

Ruth P. Lim¹, Pippa Storey¹, Iliyana P. Atanasova¹, Danny C. Kim¹, Elizabeth M. Hecht¹, David R. Stoffel¹, Jian Xu², Qun Chen¹, Henry Rusinek¹, Vivian S. Lee¹

The high SNR of ECG-triggered fast spin echo MRA at 3T may lend itself well to parallel imaging with potential benefits of allowing higher spatial resolution and/or shorter acquisition times. We implement an ECG-triggered variable flip angle 3D fast spin echo MRA technique and compare image quality and vessel conspicuity using parallel imaging in the phase encode direction alone versus parallel imaging in both slice select and phase encode directions. We find satisfactory image quality and vessel conspicuity can be maintained with substantially decreased imaging time.