Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of atherosclerotic disease

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983 · Radiology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1148/radiology.148.1.6856827· OSTI ID:5821666

Herfkens, R J; Higgins, C B; Hricak, H; Lipton, M J; Crooks, L E; Sheldon, P E; Kaufman, L

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) images of 93 patients undergoing studies of the abdomen and pelvis were studied for evidence of lesions of the aorta and the iliac and femoral arteries; atherosclerotic lesions were present in 13 of them. The lesions consisted of eccentric and concentric mural thickening with luminal narrowing and discrete plaques protruding into the vessel lumen. This appearance was distinctly different from the morphology of the internal vessel surface and uniformly thin vessel wall in normal patients and volunteers under the age of 30 years. Intraluminal flow signals observed in atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic subjects could be distinguished from mural lesions because of their lack of contiguity with the vessel wall and variation in appearance on multiple images obtained with the first and second spin echo. This initial experience suggests a potential role for NMR in the noninvasive imaging of atherosclerotic lesions. The natural contrast between flowing blood and the vessel wall indicates a distinct advantage of NMR for vascular imaging.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, San Francisco
• OSTI ID: 5821666
• Journal Information: Radiology; (United States), Vol. 148:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ARTERIES
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS
DIAGNOSIS
BLOOD FLOW
DYNAMIC FUNCTION STUDIES
AORTA
IMAGES
PATIENTS
BLOOD VESSELS
BODY
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
DISEASES
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
ORGANS
RESONANCE
VASCULAR DISEASES
550600* - Medicine
550900 - Pathology