Fast Inversion Recovery Magnetic Resonance Angiography (FIR-MRA) of the Intracranial Arteries

Ek Tsoon Tan¹, John Huston III¹, Norbert G. Campeau¹, Stephen J. Riederer¹

Spin-labeling-based FIR-MRA can provide high resolution 3D intracranial MRA. A detailed comparison of FIR-MRA (7.7 min) to standard 3D time-of-flight (TOF) MRA (6.5 min) was performed at 3 Tesla. Superior or equal vessel conspicuity, continuity, and venous suppression were demonstrated in eight normal subjects with FIR-MRA. Three clinical studies were performed. In two patients with coiled aneurysms, FIR-MRA provided superior depiction of aneurysm remnants to TOF. In one arteriovenous malformation (AVM) patient, FIR-MRA provided a clearer depiction of the AVM nidus than TOF and contrast-enhanced MRA, and could differentiate between the arterial and venous components of the AVM.