Ahmed Mohamed Housseini1,2, Patrick T. Norton1, Ismaeel Mohammad Maged1,2, Ehab Ahmed Abdel-Gawad1,3, Timothy M. Schmitt4, Kenneth L. Brayman4, Hugo Bonatti4, Timothy L. Pruett4, Thomas E. Huerta1, Klaus D. Hagspiel1
1Department of Radiology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA; 2Department of Radiology, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt; 3Department of Radiology, El Minya University, El Minya, Egypt; 4Department of Surgery, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA
MRA at 3T is considered superior to 1.5T, although for most vascular territories proof is still lacking. Fifty 3D CEMRAs (25 1.5T and 25 3T) were analyzed for signs of rejection, infarction or major vascular complications. For both techniques, overall angiographic correlation with MRI was excellent and agreed with final clinical diagnosis in all cases. There were no statistically significant differences between qualitative performance characteristics for 1.5T and 3T. Both are suitable for assessment of vascular anatomy of pancreas allografts. Despite gains in spatial resolution and signal to noise on 3T systems, this did not increase accuracy in our experience.