Renal perfusion: comparison of saturation-recovery TurboFLASH measurements at 1.5T with saturation-recovery TurboFLASH and time-resolved echo-shared angiographic technique (TREAT) at 3.0T

PURPOSE: To investigate the dependence of semiquantitative renal perfusion parameters on the acquisition technique and field strength used. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After intravenous injection of 7-mL Gd-chelates, high-temporal-resolution turbo fast low-angle shot (TurboFLASH) renal perfusion measurements were performed on eight healthy volunteers at 1.5T and another eight healthy volunteers at 3.0T. Another eight healthy volunteers were examined at 3.0T using time-resolved echo-shared angiographic technique (TREAT) after bolus administration of 7-mL Gd-chelates with a temporal resolution of 1.4 seconds. Analysis of the first-pass perfusion data yielded the following semiquantitative renal perfusion indices: mean transit time (MTT), time to peak (TTP), maximal upslope (MUS), and maximal signal intensity (MSI). RESULTS: MTT and TTP did not show significant differences between the different techniques. MSI and MUS were significantly (P < or = 0.002) higher with TREAT (591.1 a.u./second and 103.5 a.u./second) than with TurboFLASH at both field strengths (1.5T: 400.5 a.u./second and 65.4 a.u./second; 3.0T: 362.2 a.u./second and 68.7 a.u./second). CONCLUSION: Semiquantitative renal perfusion measurements are feasible with time-resolved echo-shared sequences and TurboFLASH techniques. While MTT and TTP appear to be independent of the technique and field strength applied, MUS and MSI are higher with TREAT.