Atherosclerotic plaque imaging by carotid MRI.

Carotid MRI (CMRI) is a valuable technique to examine the state of carotid atherosclerotic plaque in vivo. This article examines CMRI's current and future directions. These include technical requirements for implementing CMRI, as well as applications of CMRI, such as visualizing lesion types, plaque components, dynamic contrast imaging, comparison of stenosis and other measures of plaque burden, and ongoing knowledge gained from serial studies. Also, future directions of CMRI and how CMRI techniques can be transitioned into clinical practice are addressed.