1Department of Radiology, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, United States, 2Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
CE-MRA spatial resolution is determined by a complex
interaction between acquired voxel size, gadolinium injection rate, contrast volume,
cardiac output, magnetic field strength, and acquisition duration. R1 relaxivity
non-linearity and R2* signal degradation inherent in SPGR acquisitions play
important roles in observed signal intensity during bolus passage. Through
generation of modulation transfer functions spanning the gamut of parameter
values likely to be seen in clinical practice we derive injection rates that
produce optimal image contrast and resolution in our model.