MR imaging of blood vessels with an intravascular coil. |
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Authors: | A J Martin D B Plewes R M Henkelman |
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Institution: | Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Research, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Ont., Canada. |
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Abstract: | A method for producing high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of blood vessel walls is described. The authors review a theoretical analysis of receiver-coil design and present a coil well suited for intravascular MR imaging. The design is based on two coaxial solenoids separated by a gap region and with current driven in opposite directions. Placement of this receiver coil within the vascular space is shown to provide a substantial increase in sensitivity over that external surface coils. Experimental verification of these predictions was obtained in a vessel phantom in which a 13-cm surface coil was compared with a 3.5-mm-diameter opposed-solenoid intravascular coil. This intravascular coil had a cylindric region of high sensitivity that offered a 10-fold improvement in signal-to-noise ratio over that of an external coil near the vessel wall. The performance of this coil was also tested in the jugular vein of a swine. |
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Keywords: | Arteriosclerosis 9*7212 Blood vessels MR 9* 12142 High-resolution imaging Intravascular coils Phantoms Technology Vascular studies |
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