Peripheral MR Venography Using Sliding Interleaved Cylinder (SLINCY) Imaging

Kie Tae Kwon¹, Bob S. Hu², ³, Dwight G. Nishimura¹

MR venography (MRV) is a promising alternative to the established sonography for the diagnosis of venous disease in regions largely inaccessible to ultrasound. Non-contrast-enhanced (NCE) approaches for MRV based on SSFP sequences have been of interest due to its superior capacity to generate high SNR and vascular contrast. In this work, a sliding interleaved cylinder acquisition was incorporated into an NCE magnetization-prepared 3D SSFP sequence for MRV in the lower extremities, which achieves artery-vein contrast by suppressing the arterial signal while retaining a venous flow-independent approach. In vivo studies of thighs on healthy volunteers demonstrated the feasibility of this approach.