Mauricio S. Galizia1, 2, Christopher Glielmi3, Ioannis Koktzoglou1, Eugene Dunkle1, James C. Carr2, Robert R. Edelman1
1Department of Radiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States; 2Department of Radiology, Northwestern University-Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States; 3Cardiovascular MR R&D, Simens Healthcare, Chicago, IL, United States
Ten patients with peripheral arterial disease were imaged with nonenhanced quiescent-interval single-shot (QISS) MRA. Thinner slices were also acquired in the region of the knee. A blinded observer graded image quality in several vessel segments in the proximal calf. The horizontal anterior tibial, the posterior tibial, and the peroneal arteries had higher image quality scores in the thin-slice images. In the horizontal anterior tibial artery, the proportion of nondiagnostic and poor quality images was reduced from 50% to 5%. Acquiring additional thin slices in selected regions when imaging with QISS leads to better image quality and might improve diagnosis.