Anja Fischer1,
2, Sren Johst1, 2, Stephan Orzada1,
2, Mark E. Ladd1, 2, Kai Nassenstein1,
Thomas C. Lauenstein1, Stefan Maderwald1, 2
1Department
of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; 2Erwin L. Hahn Institute for
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
The aim was to investigate the feasibility of non-enhanced T1-weighted MRA of the lower extremity arteries. Ten healthy volunteers were examined on a 7 T MR system utilizing a custom-built 16-channel transmit / receive coil. Three non-enhanced sequences were acquired, providing a hyperintense delineation of the arterial vasculature from pelvis to feet. Best image quality was found for the popliteal segment. Artifacts could be successfully reduced with phonocardiogram gating. Our results demonstrate high quality imaging of the lower extremity arteries with non-contrast-enhanced T1w MRA at 7 T in healthy subjects, with a superiority of triggered Turbo-FLASH imaging.
Keywords