Magnetic Resonance Venography with a Blood Pool Contrast Medium

Teik Choon See¹, Andrew Winterbottom¹, Edmund Soh², Ilse Joubert¹, Martin Graves¹, David Lomas¹

Our prospective clinical trial authorised study aims to assess MR venography of the neck and thoracic central veinous system using Vasovist (gadofosveset trisodium, Schering), a blood pool contrast agent, for first pass (FP) and steady state (SS) imaging. Images are assessed independently for image quality, artefacts, stenosis, and thrombosis. Sixteen participants recruited to date and 144 venous segments assessed. The result shows very favourable SS imaging quality compared to FP (although not quite statistically significant) with potential for improving diagnostic accuracy. Mild artefacts are seen in 50% of both techniques. No significant differences noted in detection of stenosis or thrombosis.