MR imaging of aortoiliac atherosclerosis with 3D image reconstruction.

A computer program was written to detect blood flow in a sequence of magnetic resonance images, using reduction in first echo intensity and prolongation of calculated T2 value, and to construct three-dimensional vessel maps from the detected flow regions. Reconstructed vessel images were coded to show cross-sectional area of the lumen and relative flow velocity along the length of the vessel. The program was applied to imaging the aorta and iliac arteries in 11 patients with atherosclerosis and results were compared with angiography. All sites of narrowing were identified by the algorithm, but no flow at all was detected at one site of partial occlusion.