Noncontrast MR Angiography for Comprehensive Assessment of Abdominopelvic Arteries using Quadruple Inversion-Recovery Preconditioning & 3D Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Imaging

Iliyana P. Atanasova^1,2, Daniel Kim¹, Ruth P. Lim¹, Pippa Storey¹, Vivian S. Lee¹

A new non-contrast MRA pulse sequence was developed using 4 inversion-recovery (IR) pulses and 3D b-SSFP readout to provide complete coverage from renal to external iliac arteries with excellent background suppression. Respiratory triggered, non-contrast angiograms were obtained in four volunteers and one patient referred for contrast-enhanced MRA. In all subjects, MRAs exhibited excellent arterial conspicuity from the renal to the external iliac arteries with optimal background suppression. Infrarenal aortic atherosclerosis was well-visualized in the patient in good agreement with CE MRA. The new NC MRA pulse sequence provides high spatial resolution arteriograms within clinically feasible scan times of 6 min.