Sparse 3D contrast-enhanced whole-heart imaging for coronary artery evaluation.

BACKGROUND

We investigated the feasibility of evaluating coronary arteries with a contrast-enhanced (CE) self-navigated sparse isotropic 3D whole heart T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study sequence.

METHODS

A total of 22 consecutive patients underwent coronary angiography and/or cardiac computed tomography (CT) including cardiac MRI. The image quality was evaluated on a 3-point Likert scale. Inter-reader variability for image quality was analyzed with Cohen's kappa for the main coronary segments (left circumflex [LCX], left anterior descending [LAD], right coronary artery [RCA]) and the left main trunk (LMT).

RESULTS

Inter-reader agreement for image quality of the coronary tree ranged from substantial to perfect, with a Cohen's kappa of 0.722 (RCA) to 1 (LCX). The LMT had the best image quality. Image quality of the proximal vessel segments differed significantly from the mid- and distal segments (RCA vs. RCA, p < 0.05). The LCX segments showed no significant difference in image quality along the vessel length (LCX vs. LCX, p = n.s.). The mean acquisition time for the study sequence was 553 s (±46 s).

CONCLUSION

Coronary imaging with a sparse 3D whole-heart sequence is feasible in a reasonable amount of time producing good-quality imaging. Image quality was poorer in distal coronary segments and along the entire course of the LCX.