Objective Characterization of Disease Severity by Determination of Blood Flow Reserve Capacity of the Popliteal Artery in Intermittent Claudication

Bastiaan Versluis¹, Marjolein HG Dremmen¹, Patty J. Nelemans², Joachim E. Wildberger¹, Tim Leiner¹, Walter H. Backes¹

Objective characterization of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) severity remains difficult purely on the basis of morphological assessement. We describe a method to determine rest flow and blood flow reserve capacity (BFRC) of the popliteal artery, using serial velocity encoded 2D MR cine PCA flow measurements. Using this method, we found a strong reduction in rest flow, maximum flow and BFRC in 10 patients with intermittent claudication compared to 10 healthy subjects. This method can potentially be used to supplement MR angiography to objectively characterize PAD disease severity and to monitor therapy efficacy in intermittent claudication.