Published Online
on October 3, 2005

A more recent version of this article appeared on October 11, 2005

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 112/15/2324    most recent CIRCULATIONAHA.105.538942v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Larose, E. Articles by Ganz, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Larose, E. Articles by Ganz, P. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Coronary Artery Disease MRI Scans Related Collections Cardiovascular imaging agents/Techniques Pathophysiology CT and MRI

Submitted on January 26, 2005
Revised on July 20, 2005
Accepted on July 22, 2005

Characterization of Human Atherosclerotic Plaques by Intravascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Eric Larose DVM, MD, Yerem Yeghiazarians MD, Peter Libby MD, E. Kent Yucel MD, Masanori Aikawa MD, PhD, Daniel F. Kacher MS, Elena Aikawa MD, PhD, Scott Kinlay MBBS, PhD, Frederick J. Schoen MD, PhD, Andrew P. Selwyn MD, and Peter Ganz MD^*

From the Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine (E.L., Y.Y., P.L., M.A., S.K., A.P.S., P.G.), the Department of Radiology (E.K.Y., D.F.K.), and the Department of Pathology (E.A., F.J.S.), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and the VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury (S.K.), Mass.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pganz{at}aol.com.

Background--Development and validation of novel imaging modalities to assess the composition of human atherosclerotic plaques will improve the understanding of atheroma evolution and could facilitate evaluation of therapeutic strategies for plaque modification. Surface MRI can characterize tissue content of carotid but not deeper arteries. This study evaluated the usefulness of intravascular MRI (IVMRI) to discern the composition of human iliac arteries in vivo.

Methods and Results--Initial studies validated IVMRI against histopathology of human atherosclerotic arteries ex vivo. A 0.030-inch-diameter IVMRI detector coil was advanced into isolated human aortoiliac arteries and coupled to a 1.5-T scanner. Information from combined T1-, moderate T2-, and proton-density-weighted images differentiated lipid, fibrous, and calcified components with favorable sensitivity and specificity and allowed accurate quantification of plaque size. The validated approach was then applied to image iliac arteries of 25 human subjects in vivo, and results were compared with those of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). IVMRI readily visualized inner and outer plaque boundaries in all arteries, even those with extensive calcification that precluded IVUS interpretation. It also revealed the expected heterogeneity of atherosclerotic plaque content that was noted during ex vivo validation. Again, IVUS did not disclose this heterogeneity. The level of interobserver and intraobserver agreement in the interpretation of plaque composition was high for IVMRI but poor for IVUS.

Conclusions--IVMRI can reliably identify plaque composition and size in arteries deep within the body. Identification of plaque components by IVMRI in vivo has important implications for the understanding and modification of human atherosclerosis.

Key words: atherosclerosis • intravascular ultrasound • magnetic resonance imaging

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. P. Choudhury and E. A. Fisher Molecular Imaging in Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Inflammation Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, July 1, 2009; 29(7): 983 - 991. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. S. Kim, Z. M. Hijazi, R. M. Lang, and B. P. Knight The use of intracardiac echocardiography and other intracardiac imaging tools to guide noncoronary cardiac interventions. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., June 9, 2009; 53(23): 2117 - 2128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Kern and J. Narula Looking into the vessel: the more you see, the more you want to see. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Img., July 1, 2008; 1(4): 556 - 559. [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Honda and P. J. Fitzgerald Frontiers in Intravascular Imaging Technologies Circulation, April 15, 2008; 117(15): 2024 - 2037. [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. A. Jaffer, P. Libby, and R. Weissleder Molecular Imaging of Cardiovascular Disease Circulation, August 28, 2007; 116(9): 1052 - 1061. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Tegner, J. Skogsberg, and J. Bjorkegren Thematic review series: Systems Biology Approaches to Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disorders. Multi-organ whole-genome measurements and reverse engineering to uncover gene networks underlying complex traits J. Lipid Res., February 1, 2007; 48(2): 267 - 277. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Waxman, F. Ishibashi, and J. E. Muller Detection and Treatment of Vulnerable Plaques and Vulnerable Patients: Novel Approaches to Prevention of Coronary Events Circulation, November 28, 2006; 114(22): 2390 - 2411. [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Larose Below Radar: Contributions of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance to the Understanding of Myonecrosis After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Circulation, August 15, 2006; 114(7): 620 - 622. [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. A. Jaffer, P. Libby, and R. Weissleder Molecular and Cellular Imaging of Atherosclerosis: Emerging Applications J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., April 4, 2006; 47(7): 1328 - 1338. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. J. Lederman Cardiovascular Interventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Circulation, November 8, 2005; 112(19): 3009 - 3017. [Full Text] [PDF]