David W. Stanley1, James F. Glockner2, Naoki Takahashi2, Steven L. Williams2, Marilyn R. Wood2, Naoyuki Takei3, Sun Wei4
1GE Healthcare, Proctor, MN, USA; 2Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 3Applied Science Laboratory Japan, GE Yokogawa Medical Systems, Hino, Tokyo, Japan; 4MR Engineering, GE Healthcare, Waukesha, WI, USA
CE-MRA is accepted technique for evaluation of the renal arteries; however, recent concerns regarding the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis after gadolinium contrast agent administration in patients with reduced renal function have emphasized the need for non-contrast MRA methods. One such technique is SSFP with in-flow inversion recovery (Inhance). Inhance has produced accurate and reliable images of the renal arteries in a variety of patients at 1.5T. Inhance at 3T offers potential advantages (improved SNR) and limitations (increased image artifact). We compared image quality and diagnostic accuracy of Inhance at 1.5T and 3T in a series of volunteers and patients.