Florian M. Vogt1, Katja Seng2, Peter Hunold1, Stefan Maderwald2, Armin deGreiff2, Gerhard Laub3, Jrg Barkhausen1
1Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lbeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; 2University Hospital Essen; 3Siemens Medical Solutions at University of California
Purpose was to evaluate different k-space acquisition protocols for dynamic 3D-MRA of thoracic vessels and to assess intra-individually their influence on image quality, artifacts and contrast enhancement while keeping temporal and spatial resolution constant. In 20 patients two TWIST protocols with different k-space acquisition strategies were performed on a 1.5 T whole-body scanner. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the TWIST sequence allowed sufficient morphological and functional assessment of the aorta and pulmonary arteries but with significant better results using protocol 1. Keeping spatial and temporal resolution constant the strategy of k-space acquisition has relevant influence on image quality.