Underberg Bianca A, Kaessmeyer Sabine, Schweizer Daniela, Drews Barbara, Van der Vekens Elke
Division of Clinical Radiology, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Jul 18;12:1585940. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1585940. eCollection 2025.
The objective of this study was to establish a non-contrast enhanced MR angiography (NC-MRA) sequence for the equine foot (EF) using a post-mortem angiography model.
Time-of-flight (TOF) sequences were tested using variable parameter settings and 3 slice orientations during vascular perfusion of frozen-thawed cadaver EF with paraffine oil. Transverse and dorsal orientations were planned perpendicular or parallel to the sublamellar vascular plexus at the dorsal aspect of P3, or approximately perpendicular to the coronary plexus. Visibility of the coronary plexus, sublamellar plexus, palmar plexus, terminal arch and its respective branches, solar plexus, and the marginal circumflex vessels was evaluated in a total of 74 sequences.
Twelve EF of 10 horses were scanned. Visibility of vessels as small as the sublamellar plexus was best achieved by 3D-TOF sequences in transverse and dorsal orientations with the following parameters: pixel size 0.34 × 0.48 mm, slice thickness 0.2 mm, interslice gap 0.2 mm, TR/TE 21.2/4.7 ms, flip angle 16°, TONE ramp 70%, acquisition time 22.05 min. Only for the sublamellar plexus, the transverse acquisition showed a slightly better visualization than the dorsal acquisition, however the latter could include nearly the entire EF in the field of view with the same acquisition time.
3D-TOF allowed visualization down to at least the sublamellar venous plexus which is reported to have diameters of approximately 0.45 mm. The post-mortem model facilitated establishment of a TOF sequence without the need for experimental animals.
本研究的目的是使用尸检血管造影模型建立一种用于马足部（EF）的非对比增强磁共振血管造影（NC-MRA）序列。
在对冻融后的尸体EF用石蜡油进行血管灌注期间，使用可变参数设置和3种切片方向测试飞行时间（TOF）序列。横向和背侧方向的规划是垂直或平行于P3背侧的板下层血管丛，或大致垂直于冠状丛。在总共74个序列中评估冠状丛、板下层丛、掌侧丛、终末弓及其各自分支、足底丛和边缘环行血管的可视性。
对10匹马的12个EF进行了扫描。对于小至板下层丛的血管，通过横向和背侧方向的3D-TOF序列，采用以下参数可实现最佳可视性：像素大小0.34×0.48毫米，层厚0.2毫米，层间距0.2毫米，TR/TE 21.2/4.7毫秒，翻转角16°，TONE斜坡70%，采集时间22.05分钟。仅对于板下层丛，横向采集显示出比背侧采集稍好的可视化效果，然而后者在相同采集时间下可在视野中包括几乎整个EF。
3D-TOF能够实现至少对据报道直径约为0.45毫米的板下层静脉丛的可视化。尸检模型有助于建立TOF序列，而无需实验动物。
