Steve J. Sawiak1, Valentina Taviani2,
Victoria E. Young2, Joe L. Bird3, Hugh K. Richards4,
Andrew J. Patterson2, Martin J. Graves2, Adrian T.
Carpenter1, Jonathan H. Gillard2
1Wolfson Brain Imaging
Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; 2Department
of Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; 3Clinical
Pharmacology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; 4Department
of Anesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
High-field high-resolution MRI can be used to monitor the onset and progression of disease in a collar-induced rabbit model of atherosclerosis. Two-dimensional fat-suppressed T2- and T1-weighted images with an in-plane resolution of 125μm allowed delineation of the vessel wall three days after surgical implantation of the collar, when intima-media thickening is expected to be minimal. The protocol was complemented by an ECG-gated cine phase contrast pulse sequence which allowed us to acquire spatially- and temporally-resolved flow velocity profiles distal and proximal to the collar.
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