Abdominal and Thoracic Magnetic Resonance Angiography: Challenges, Technical Approaches, and First Clinical Applications

The main goal of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is to enrich the huge potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by additional morphological and functional information about the vasculature. In spin echo sequences fast flowing blood leads to signal extinction, providing high contrast between tissue and vascular structures without the need for contrast media. However, various artifacts are frequently observed which alter the assessment of the vasculature. They are due to alterations of flow (slow velocity or turbulences) or induced by the acquisition technique (Mills et al. 1983; Bradley and Waluch 1985). By using gradient echo sequences, high-quality angiograms can be obtained from…