Stephen J. Gandy1, Prasad Guntur Ramkumar2, Shelley A. Waugh1, R Stephen Nicholas1, Andrew W. Taylor2, Xiaoming Bi3, Peter Weale3, J Graeme Houston2
1NHS Tayside Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, Angus, UK; 2NHS Tayside Clinical Radiology, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, Angus, UK; 3Cardiovascular Research and Development, Siemens Medical Solutions, Chicago, IL, USA
The study aim was to compare a new steady-state gradient echo non-contrast MR angiography (NCE-MRA) sequence with contrast enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) for renal artery imaging. Fifty patients with suspected renovascular disease were scanned using non-contrast (NATIVE TrueFISP) and CE-MRA sequences. Resulting maximum intensity projection (MIP) images were compared and scored by two observers. Qualitative analysis revealed that NCE-MRA and CE-MRA were virtually equivalent for renal artery visualisation. Intra- and inter-observer scoring agreement was k=0.91 and 0.70 respectively. In conclusion, this NCE-MRA technique is comparable to CE-MRA and may provide an alternative for imaging patients at risk of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis.