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Improvements in carotid plaque imaging using a new eight‐element phased array coil at 3T

2009; Wiley; Volume: 30; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/jmri.21890

1522-2586

Niranjan Balu, Vasily L. Yarnykh, Joshua Scholnick, Baocheng Chu, Chun Yuan, Cecil Hayes,

Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention

Abstract Purpose To design and compare an eight‐channel phased array (PA) coil for carotid imaging to an established four‐channel PA design at 3T. Materials and Methods An eight‐channel PA (8PA) coil was designed specifically for imaging the carotid bifurcation and compared with the existing four‐channel (4PA) design using a phantom and by in vivo black‐blood magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The 8PA and 4PA were compared in terms of coverage, signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), and contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR). Results The 8PA showed up to 1.7‐fold improvement in SNR at a depth of 3.5 cm and greater longitudinal coverage at a given SNR on a phantom. The 8PA showed improved vessel wall SNR for high spatial resolution (0.63 mm 2 ) PD, T1, and T2 (1.7, 1.7, 1.6 times, respectively; P ≤ 0.002) and improved CNR (1.7, 1.6, 1.5 times, respectively; P ≤ 0.002). Ultrahigh‐resolution (0.27 mm 2 ) T1‐weighted images showed better SNR and CNR (1.4 times, P ≤ 0.0001) on 8PA compared to 4PA. Conclusion Carotid imaging studies may benefit from the improved SNR and larger coverage provided by use of the 8PA. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.