Hideki Ota1, Vasily L. Yarnykh2, Marina S. Ferguson2, Hunter R. Underhill2, J Kevin DeMarco1, Minako Oikawa2, Li Dong2, Xihai Zhao2, David C. Zhu1, Thomas S. Hatsukami3, Chun Yuan2
1Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; 2Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; 3Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
In this study using a 3.0T scanner, the detection and area measurement of carotid intraplaque hemorrhage were compared amongst three T1W sequences: 2D-FSE, 3D-SPGR, and 3D-MPRAGE. For each T1W sequence, an experienced radiologist identified hemorrhage blinded to histology and the images and results from the other sequences. A total of 198 slices in 18 arteries were matched to histology. MPRAGE demonstrated the highest agreement for detection and quantification of hemorrhage with histology and the highest %-contrast of hemorrhage among 3 weightings. This study validates the use of MPRAGE as a fast and reliable hemorrhage-specific sequence for 3.0T carotid plaque MRI.