Comparison of gated and non-gated fast multislice black-blood carotid imaging using rapid extended coverage and inflow/outflow saturation techniques

PURPOSE: To comparatively analyze two fast in vivo multislice black-blood carotid artery vessel wall imaging techniques with and without cardiac gating. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight subjects with carotid artery atherosclerosis, and four healthy subjects were studied using two black-blood multislice techniques: rapid extended coverage double inversion recovery (REX-DIR), and inflow/outflow saturation band (IOSB) rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) multislice acquisitions. Quantitative, qualitative, and morphometric analyses were performed on images. RESULTS: Gating produced significantly lower values for the REX-DIR sequence with respect to signal intensity in muscle and the carotid artery wall, whereas it had no effect on flow suppression compared to non-gated images. For the IOSB sequences, gating had no significant effect on signal intensity of muscle and the carotid artery wall, but worsened flow suppression. REX-DIR and IOSB sequences were statistically different with respect to signal intensity of muscle (with REX-DIR sequences having lower values), while no statistical significance was observed for flow suppression and wall delineation. A morphologic analysis of the vessel wall and lumen comparing REX-DIR gated, IOSB gated, REX-DIR non-gated, and IOSB non-gated sequences revealed no significant differences between the acquisition techniques tested. CONCLUSION: Non-gated sequences may be used instead of gated sequences in atherosclerotic vessel wall imaging without compromising image quality. This may shorten examination time and improve patient comfort.