From the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (L.L., J.N., P.J.), Acute Vascular Imaging Centre, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (J.T.C., R.P.C.), University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (L.B., M.D.R.), and Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences (A.I.H.), University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, England.
Radiology. 2014 Nov;273(2):560-9. doi: 10.1148/radiol.14131717. Epub 2014 Jun 11.
To prospectively compare the black-blood ( BB black blood ) imaging efficiency of a delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation ( DANTE delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation ) preparation module with conventional double inversion-recovery ( DIR double inversion recovery ) and motion-sensitive driven equilibrium ( MSDE motion-sensitive driven equilibrium ) preparation modules and to introduce a new three-dimensional ( 3D three-dimensional ) T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequence.
Carotid artery wall imaging was performed in 10 healthy volunteers and 15 patients in accordance with an institutional review board-approved protocol. Two-dimensional ( 2D two-dimensional ) turbo spin-echo ( TSE turbo spin echo ) and 3D three-dimensional fast low-angle shot ( FLASH fast low-angle shot ) sequences served as readout modules. DANTE delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation -prepared T1-, T2-, and proton density-weighted 2D two-dimensional TSE turbo spin echo images, as well as T1-weighted 3D three-dimensional DANTE delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation -prepared FLASH fast low-angle shot (hereafter, 3D three-dimensional DASH DANTE-prepared FLASH ) images, were acquired in the region of the carotid artery bifurcation. For comparison, 2D two-dimensional DIR double inversion recovery -prepared, 2D two-dimensional MSDE motion-sensitive driven equilibrium -prepared multicontrast TSE turbo spin echo , and 3D three-dimensional MSDE motion-sensitive driven equilibrium -prepared FLASH fast low-angle shot (hereafter, 3D three-dimensional MERGE MSDE-prepared FLASH ) MR images were also acquired. The effective contrast-to-noise ratio ( CNReff effective contrast-to-noise ratio ) per unit time was calculated for all sequences. Paired t tests were performed to test within-group differences in vessel wall CNReff effective contrast-to-noise ratio .
The CNReff effective contrast-to-noise ratio of DANTE delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation -prepared T1-, T2-, and proton density-weighted sequences was 27.3, 14.7, and 25.7 mm(-1)min(-1/2), respectively; this represented an improvement of approximately 25%-100% (P < .05) when compared with the CNReff effective contrast-to-noise ratio attained with existing methods. The 3D three-dimensional DASH DANTE-prepared FLASH technique proved to be a fast (<2 seconds per section) and high-spatial-resolution (0.6 mm isotropic) BB black blood technique with higher (75%-100% improvement, P < .001) signal-to-noise ratio efficiency than the 3D three-dimensional MERGE MSDE-prepared FLASH technique.
The DANTE delay alternating with nutation for tailored excitation -prepared multicontrast 2D two-dimensional BB black blood technique is a promising new tool for MR imaging of carotid artery walls. Additionally, the 3D three-dimensional DASH DANTE-prepared FLASH sequence enables 3D three-dimensional high-spatial-resolution fast T1-weighted imaging of carotid artery walls. ©RSNA, 2014 Online supplemental material is available for this article .
前瞻性比较延迟交替张弛（DANTE）定制激发模块与传统双反转恢复（DIR）和运动敏感驱动平衡（MSDE）激发模块的黑血（BB black blood）成像效率，并介绍一种新的三维（3D）T1 加权磁共振（MR）成像序列。
根据机构审查委员会批准的方案，对 10 名健康志愿者和 15 名患者进行颈动脉壁成像。二维（2D）涡轮自旋回波（TSE）和三维（3D）快速小角度激发（FLASH）序列作为读出模块。获取 DANTE 定制激发的 T1、T2 和质子密度加权 2D 涡轮自旋回波（TSE）图像以及 T1 加权 3D DANTE 定制激发的 FLASH（以下简称 3D DASH DANTE 激发的 FLASH）图像。在颈动脉分叉处进行比较，还获取了 2D DIR 双反转恢复激发、2D MSDE 运动敏感驱动平衡激发多对比度 TSE 图像以及 3D MSDE 运动敏感驱动平衡激发的 FLASH（以下简称 3D MERGE MSDE 激发的 FLASH）MR 图像。计算所有序列的单位时间有效对比噪声比（CNReff）。对组内血管壁 CNReff 进行配对 t 检验。
DANTE 定制激发的 T1、T2 和质子密度加权序列的 CNReff 分别为 27.3、14.7 和 25.7mm(-1)min(-1/2)，与现有方法相比，分别提高了约 25%-100%（P<0.05）。3D DASH DANTE 激发的 FLASH 技术是一种快速（<2 秒/节）、高空间分辨率（0.6mm 各向同性）的 BB 黑血技术，与 3D MERGE MSDE 激发的 FLASH 技术相比，其信号噪声比效率提高了 75%-100%（P<0.001）。
DANTE 定制激发的多对比度 2D BB 黑血技术是一种有前途的颈动脉壁磁共振成像新工具。此外，3D DASH DANTE 激发的 FLASH 序列可实现颈动脉壁的 3D 高空间分辨率快速 T1 加权成像。
