Improved dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) using iterative data reconstruction

Background CE-MRA following the injection of a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) bolus is widely used in clinical assessment of vascular dynamics and tissue perfusion (1,2). Although keyhole techniques with an increased number of central k-space updates further improved contrast kinetics information, spatial resolution remains limited. Alternatively applied view sharing approaches also result in prolonged temporal footprints with possible temporal blurring or reconstruction artifacts. Sparse, incoherent sampling approaches and iterative reconstruction techniques have proven successful particularly in dynamic MR imaging (3). We sought to evaluate the impact of iterative reconstruction techniques on dynamic contrast enhanced MRA of the thoracic aorta.