Pre-Contrast and Post-Contrast Isotropic 3D Black-Blood MRI with Identical Imaging Parameters

Niranjan Balu¹, Chun Yuan¹

Comparison of pre and post-gadolinium contrast black-blood MRI is required for accurate identification of atherosclerotic plaque components such as lipid-rich necrotic core. Obtaining both pre and post-contrast MRI with identical imaging parameters is critical to distinguish plaque components based on their contrast uptake. Adequate blood-suppression in post-contrast 3D black-blood MRI is challenging due to shortening of blood T1 post-contrast and the requirement of large coverage and short scan time. We describe a 3D isotropic black-blood imaging for large-coverage black-blood MRI pre and post-contrast with identical imaging parameters and compare its performance to an existing 2D quadruple inversion recovery sequence.