Effect of the rate of gadolinium injection on magnetic resonance pulmonary perfusion imaging

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Abstract
Purpose To determine whether the injection rate of contrast agent affects the dynamics of enhancement of the pulmonary parenchyma on magnetic resonance (MR) pulmonary perfusion imaging. Materials and Methods Fifteen healthy volunteers underwent enhanced MR pulmonary perfusion imaging to evaluate the effects of different injection rates. Injection rates were 1, 3, or 5 mL/second. Regions of interest (ROIs) were chosen in the lung and aorta to analyze the change in signal intensity over time. Results As the injection rate increased, the peak enhancement occurred significantly earlier (P = 0.0012), but the peak enhancement signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) value was not affected (P = 0.25). With the 3‐ and 5‐mL/second injection rates, images of both the pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation were obtained separately. However, with 1 mL/second, higher enhancement of the aorta was overlapped with peak enhancement of the lung tissue. Conclusion The injection rate affects the enhancement profiles of the pulmonary parenchyma. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;15:108–113.