NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) Imaging of Human Coronary Arteries

摘要

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is being studied as a method to detect the presence of atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries of humans in a totally non-invasive manner, and to characterize the anatomic features of these lesions. For this purpose we use an MR imager that has already realized a spatial resolution of 0.8 mm for deep structures within the body coupled with a MRI-compatible heart synchronized gate. Previous work has shown that MRI can detect atherosclerotic lesions in deep lying stationary vessels; with sufficient spatial resolution these lesions can be characterized as to compositional elements such as lipids, thrombus, connective tissue, necrosis and calcifications; and human coronary arteries can be imaged by MRI. Under the new contract we are developing MRI sequences optimized for use in gated cardiac imaging. We are also developing display techniques to improve reproducibility and ease of interpretation of studies.