3.0‐Tesla MR angiography of intracranial aneurysms: Comparison of time‐of‐flight and contrast‐enhanced techniques

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Abstract
Purpose: To determine whether 3.0‐T elliptical‐centric contrast‐enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography is superior to 3.0‐T elliptical‐centric time‐of‐flight (TOF) MR angiography in the detection and characterization of intracranial aneurysms, and to determine whether increasing the acquisition matrix size in 3.0‐T CE MR angiography improves image quality.Materials and Methods: A total of 50 consecutive patients referred for MR angiographic evaluation of a known or suspected intracranial aneurysm underwent MR angiography, including three‐dimensional TOF and elliptical‐centric CE techniques at 3.0 T. The 3.0‐T three‐dimensional TOF and 3.0‐T CE examinations were graded for image quality. A blind review identified the presence and location of aneurysms.Results: A total of 28 aneurysms were identified in 23 of the 50 patients. The 3.0‐T TOF MR angiography had a higher mean score for image quality than the 3.0‐T elliptical‐centric CE MR angiography (P < 0.0001). A total of 14 patients with aneurysms had conventional angiography for comparison. The 3.0‐T TOF showed all the aneurysms, whereas 3.0‐T CE MR angiography did not show 1 of 19 aneurysms when conventional angiography was the reference standard.Conclusion: For imaging intracranial aneurysms, 3.0‐T TOF MR angiography offers better image quality than 3.0‐T CE MR angiography using the elliptical‐centric technique. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2005;21:97–102.