Halliburton S S, Paschal C B
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2675, USA.
Invest Radiol. 1996 Nov;31(11):724-8. doi: 10.1097/00004424-199611000-00007.
Imaging techniques that distinguish atherosclerotic plaque components may be useful in identifying the nature of the atherosclerotic lesion and determining the best method of treatment for obstructive vascular mining the best method of treatment for obstructive vascular disease. This study compares fast spin-echo (FSE) magnetic resonance (MR) and spiral computed tomography (CT) images of excised human atherosclerotic aortas to determine which imaging technique provides the best contrast between plaque components ex vivo.
Aortas were imaged using four FSE sequences in MR with and without frequency-selective fat saturation, and using spiral CT without contrast. The average signal intensity of a region of calcification, thrombosis, fatty plaque, and normal vessel wall was measured on all images and compared.
The use of fat saturation pulses in MR did not significantly alter the signal from atherosclerotic plaque for the sequences used. Proton density-weighted FSE sequences that collected early echoes were better than other FSE sequences and CT at differentiating calcification from all soft tissues. T2-weighted FSE sequences that collected later echoes were best at soft-tissue discrimination.
The FSE techniques used were superior to nonenhanced spiral CT in discriminating plaque components ex vivo, including calcification.
能够区分动脉粥样硬化斑块成分的成像技术，可能有助于识别动脉粥样硬化病变的性质，并确定治疗阻塞性血管疾病的最佳方法。本研究比较切除的人体动脉粥样硬化主动脉的快速自旋回波（FSE）磁共振（MR）和螺旋计算机断层扫描（CT）图像，以确定哪种成像技术能在体外提供斑块成分之间的最佳对比度。
使用磁共振成像的四个FSE序列对主动脉进行成像，分别是有和没有频率选择性脂肪饱和的情况，同时使用无对比剂的螺旋CT进行成像。在所有图像上测量钙化、血栓、脂肪斑块和正常血管壁区域的平均信号强度，并进行比较。
在所使用的序列中，磁共振成像中脂肪饱和脉冲的使用并没有显著改变动脉粥样硬化斑块的信号。采集早期回波的质子密度加权FSE序列在区分钙化与所有软组织方面比其他FSE序列和CT更好。采集后期回波的T2加权FSE序列在软组织辨别方面表现最佳。
所使用的FSE技术在体外辨别斑块成分（包括钙化）方面优于非增强螺旋CT。
