Three-dimensional high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the coronary arteries

 
 
 
 

Three-dimensional high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the coronary arteries

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Title: Three-dimensional high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the coronary arteries
Author: Paschal, Cynthia Bruce
Description: Coronary heart disease is a life-threatening illness which is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Improved methods for early detection and monitoring of coronary heart disease are needed in the battle against this killer. Thus, the objective of this dissertation research was to develop and evaluate a non-invasive, three dimensional magnetic resonance imaging technique capable of visualizing the coronary arteries. The greatest challenge towards meeting this goal is respiratory motion of the heart. This motion was characterized and found to be on the order of tens of millimeters in range and greater in extent along the cranio/caudal axis than along the anterior/posterior axis for a supine subject. The motion was determined to be more complex than a simple one dimensional translation. Several methods to compensate for respiratory motion were evaluated via examination of point spread functions, computer simulations of imaging, and actual application to imaging experiments. A 3D approach was selected for its ability to provide high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio images. The implementation of a 3D technique for cardiac imaging imposes a variety of filters over the detected signal. These filters were simulated and analyzed for their effect on contrast and resolution. Finally, the developed technique was used on normal volunteers and patients with known pathology. The technique was very successful in depicting anatomy in normal volunteers. The technique was able to clearly reveal pathology in some patients yet yielded false negatives in others. The inconsistencies in the ability to reveal pathology may actually have been related to different types of disease. If so, then the technique may provide a method of discrimination between different types of disease though more experimentation is needed to characterize the appearance of pathology in this 3D technique. In addition, improving the technique by incorporating more respiratory compensation, especially gating, increasing resolution, including spatially and/or frequency selective RF pulses, employing appropriate surface coils, and possibly utilizing contrast agents should increase the diagnostic capability of 3D MRI of the coronary arteries
Permanent Link: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1060266032
http://hdl.handle.net/2374.OX/17082
Date: 1992

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