Brigit den Adel1, Linda M. van der Graaf1, Bianca Hogers1, Glenda S. van Bochove2, Marco C. Deruiter1, Klaas Nicolay2, Louise van der Weerd1,3, Robert E. Poelmann1
1Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 3Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
Despite the wide range of methods to generate contrast with MRI, it is difficult to discriminate intimal thickening and atherosclerotic lesions from healthy vesseld using intrinsic MRI contrast mechanisms, especially in moving structures like the aortic arch. We aim to determine the kinetics of lipid-based Gd-containing contrast agents for in vivo visualization of atherosclerotic in the aortic arch of ApolipoproteinE deficient mice. Retrospective gated cine MRI of the aortic arch allows to visualize passive contrast enhancement in atherosclerotic plaques. Different Gd-containing contrast agents were shown to have different kinetics, and optimal imaging has to be assessed by longitudinal follow-up.