FSD-bSSFP Based Non-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography Of The Hand Arteries: A Preliminary Studay

Objective：To evaluate the value of non-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography based onsensitive scattered phase of the blood flow balanced steady-state free precession sequence(FSD-bSSFP NE-MRA) in displaying the hand arteries.Material and methods:Thirty healthy volunteers (16males and14females, averaged age24years) wereimaged at1.5T with FSD-bSSFP sequence and contrast-enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) todisplay the hand arteries. Image quality parameters including signal noise ratio (SNR) andcontrast noise ratio (CNR) were assessed by two experienced radiologists in consensus.The score of image quality, venous contamination to hand arteries and the capability todisplay arteries branches were also evaluated. P<0.05indicated statistical significance.Results:SNR of FSD-bSSFP was significantly higher than that of CE-MRA (P=0.003) and thedifference in CNR between two images was not significant (P=0.561). The image qualityscore of FSD-bSSFP was significantly higher than that of CE-MRA (P=0.025). The venouscontamination of FSD-bSSFP was less than that of CE-MRA (P=0.007). The visibility ofall segmental (P=0.005,0.002) and proper arteries branches (P=0.095,0.084) showsignificant difference between two groups, but the differences in ulnar, radial arteries andpalmar arches were not significant (P>0.05).Conclusions:Preliminary data indicate that the proposed non-enhanced FSD-bSSFP MRangiographic technique is an improvement over existing contrast-enhanced techniques forevaluation of the hand vasculature.