Impact of bulk cardiac motion on right coronary MR angiography and vessel wall imaging

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of in‐plane coronary artery motion on coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and coronary MR vessel wall imaging. Free‐breathing, navigator‐gated, 3D‐segmented k‐space turbo field echo ((TFE)/echo‐planar imaging (EPI)) coronary MRA and 2D fast spin‐echo coronary vessel wall imaging of the right coronary artery (RCA) were performed in 15 healthy adult subjects. Images were acquired at two different diastolic time periods in each subject: 1) during a subject‐specific diastasis period (in‐plane velocity <4 cm/second) identified from analysis of in‐plane coronary artery motion, and 2) using a diastolic trigger delay based on a previously implemented heart‐rate‐dependent empirical formula. RCA vessel wall imaging was only feasible with subject‐specific middiastolic acquisition, while the coronary wall could not be identified with the heart‐rate‐dependent formula. For coronary MRA, RCA border definition was improved by 13% (P < 0.001) with the use of subject‐specific trigger delay (vs. heart‐rate‐dependent delay). Subject‐specific middiastolic image acquisition improves 3D TFE/EPI coronary MRA, and is critical for RCA vessel wall imaging. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;14:383–390. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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