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- Title
Simultaneous MRI water‐fat separation and quantitative susceptibility mapping of carotid artery plaque pre‐ and post‐ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide‐uptake.
- Authors
Ruetten, Pascal P. R.; Cluroe, Alison D.; Usman, Ammara; Priest, Andrew N.; Gillard, Jonathan H.; Graves, Martin J.
- Abstract
Purpose: Imaging carotid artery plaques to identify features of vulnerability typically requires a multicontrast MRI protocol. The identification of regions of inflammation with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles requires separate pre‐ and postcontrast scans. We propose a method of joint water‐fat separation and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) to aid classification of atherosclerotic plaques and offer a positive contrast mechanism in USPIO‐imaging. Methods: Ten healthy volunteers (3 women and 7 men; aged, 30.7 ± 10.7 years) were imaged at 1.5T to develop an acquisition and postprocessing protocol. Five patients (1 woman and 4 men; mean age, 71 ± 7.5 years) with moderate to severe luminal stenosis were imaged pre‐ and postadministration of a USPIO contrast agent. We used a multiecho gradient echo acquisition to perform water/fat separation and subsequently QSM. The results were compared with a conventional multicontrast MRI protocol, CT images, and histopathology data. Results: In the volunteer scans, a multiecho gradient echo acquisition with bipolar readout gradients demonstrated to be a reliable acquisition methodology to produce high‐quality susceptibility maps in conjunction with the proposed postprocessing methodology. In the patient study, water/fat separation provided a tool to identify lipid‐rich necrotic cores and QSM provided a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of plaque features and positive contrast when evaluating USPIO uptake. Plaque calcification could be identified by strong diamagnetism (−1.27 ± 0.71 ppm), while USPIO uptake demonstrated a strong paramagnetism (1.32 ± 0.61 ppm). Conclusion: QSM was able to identify multiple plaque features in a single acquisition, providing positive contrast for plaques demonstrating USPIO uptake and negative contrast for calcification.
- Subjects
ATHEROSCLEROTIC plaque; CAROTID artery; DIAMAGNETISM; FERRIC oxide; PARAMAGNETISM
- Publication
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2020, Vol 84, Issue 2, p686
- ISSN
0740-3194
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/mrm.28151