Peripheral MR angiography: separation of arteries from veins with flow-spoiled gradient pulses in electrocardiography-triggered three-dimensional half-Fourier fast spin-echo imaging.

The authors evaluated a nonenhanced magnetic resonance (MR) angiographic technique that allows separation of arteries from veins. In 15 healthy subjects, peripheral MR angiography was performed with readout flow-spoiled gradient pulses in electrocardiography-triggered three-dimensional half-Fourier fast spin-echo MR imaging. Appropriate flow-spoiled gradient pulses were measured and applied in the three-dimensional acquisition to differentiate arteries and veins in the peripheral vasculature. Subtraction of the diastolic bright-blood arteries from the systolic black-blood arteries allowed visualization of the arteries by cancelling the veins, which are constantly depicted as bright blood throughout the cardiac cycle. Stronger flow-spoiled gradient pulses improved the depiction of slow-flow arteries even in the distal foot and hand vessels.