Time-efficient black blood RCA wall imaging at 3T using improved motion sensitized driven equilibrium (iMSDE): feasibility and reproducibility

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and reproducibility of a time-efficient coronary vessel wall measurement approach using an improved motion-sensitized driven equilibrium (iMSDE) pulse sequence. METHODOLOGY: In this study, the iMSDE pulse sequence was first optimized and then applied on a group of healthy volunteers (N = 10) to evaluate its feasibility of vessel wall visualization. The same technique was also applied on a separate group of volunteers (N = 19) for a reproducibility study by scanning the same subject in two separate sessions. The iMSDE sequence was found to provide good coronary vessel wall delineation. It was also found to provide reproducible coronary vessel wall diameter and thickness measurements in both proximal and middle segments of the right coronary artery. CONCLUSION: The feasibility and reproducibility of iMSDE based coronary vessel wall imaging were demonstrated for the first time, paving the way for further testing in a clinical environment for fast and accurate coronary artery disease detection.