Atherosclerosis characterization using a multi-contrast MRI sequence

• US 9,554,727 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2013
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Cedars Sinai Health System)
• Original Assignee: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Cedars Sinai Health System)
• Inventors: Li, Debiao, Fan, Zhaoyang
• Primary Examiner(s): Gray, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROTH, LAURA K
• Application Number:
  US13/970,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20150048821A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,261 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02007 Evaluating blood vessel condition, e.g. elasticity, compliance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5602 by filtering or weighting based on different relaxation times within the sample, e.g. T1 weighting using an inversion pulse
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5607 by reducing the NMR signal of a particular spin species, e.g. of a chemical species for fat suppression, or of a moving spin species for black-blood imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5635 Angiography, e.g. contrast-enhanced angiography [CE-MRA] or time-of-flight angiography [TOF-MRA]

Abstract

The present invention relates to imaging and characterizing atherosclerotic lesions. The invention utilizes a low-flip-angle gradient echo-based MRI acquisition technique combined with specialized magnetization preparative schemes (i.e. non-selective inversion and FSD), and multiple co-registered 3D image sets with different contrast weightings are collected in an interleaved fashion. Using the inventive method, a single scan allows for comprehensive assessment of atherosclerotic plaque within just a few minutes.

Claims

1. A method for imaging an atherosclerotic lesion in a subject, comprising the steps of:

using an MRI machine to acquire multiple spatially co-registered 3D image sets in an interleaved fashion and from the same imaged volume of the subject, during a single scan, wherein the image sets are acquired by performing steps comprising;

(1) applying a non-selective inversion pulse to a volume of interest (VOI) in the subject;

(2) applying a first flow-sensitive dephasing (FSD) preparation;

(3) acquiring hyper T1-weighted data from the VOI in the subject;

(4) acquiring grey-blood data from the VOI in the subject, subsequent to and dependent upon blood signal recovery and the inflow of fresh blood in a vessel with the VOI;

(5) applying a second FSD and T2-weighted preparation; and

(6) acquiring T2-weighted data from the VOI, at the end of the scan.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the duration of the first FSD preparation is shorter than that of the second FSD preparation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject is a mammal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject is a human.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the VOI comprises a region of the subject'"'"'s heart.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the VOI comprises one or more anatomical structures selected from the group consisting of:

an arterial wall, the brain, heart muscle, and parenchyma of an organ.

7. A method for characterizing one or more atherosclerotic lesions in a subject, comprising:

viewing images of the subject obtained by performing the method of claim 1; and

characterizing one or more atherosclerotic lesions in the subject on the basis of the presence or absence and/or extent of one or more characteristics demonstrated in the images and selected from the group consisting of (i) intra-plaque hemorrhage, (ii) calcified nodules, (iii) dense fibrous material, (iv) necrotic core, and (v) loose matrix.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more atherosclerotic lesions are further characterized by determining whether any hemorrhage detected is relatively new or relatively old, based upon one or more of the images viewed.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein any hemorrhage detected is characterized as relatively new or relatively old, based upon its signal appearance relative to other surrounding tissues on the T2-weighted image set.

10. A magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:

a magnet operable to provide a magnetic field;

a transmitter operable to transmit to a region within the magnetic field;

a receiver operable to receive a magnetic resonance signal from the region; and

a processor operable to control the transmitter and the receiver;

wherein the processor is configured to direct the transmitter and receiver to execute a sequence, comprising (a) applying a non-selective inversion pulse to a volume of interest (VOI) in a subject;

(b) applying a first flow-sensitive dephasing (FSD) preparation;

(c) acquiring hyper T1-weighted magnetic resonance data from the VOI in the subject;

(d) acquiring grey-blood magnetic resonance data from the VOI in the subject, subsequent to and dependent upon blood signal recovery and the inflow of fresh blood in a vessel within the VOI;

(e) applying a second FSD preparation; and

(f) acquiring T2-weighted data from the VOI, at the end of the sequence; and

wherein the processor is configured to generate an image based on the magnetic resonance data.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the duration of the first FSD preparation is shorter than that of the second FSD preparation.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the VOI comprises a region of the subject'"'"'s heart.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the VOI comprises one or more anatomical structures selected from the group consisting of:

an arterial wall, the brain, heart muscle, and parenchyma of an organ.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having machine executable instructions for causing one or more processors of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine to execute an MRI scan, comprising:

applying a non-selective inversion pulse to a volume of interest (VOI) in a subject;

applying a first flow-sensitive dephasing (FSD) preparation;

acquiring hyper T1-weighted magnetic resonance data from the VOI in the subject;

acquiring grey-blood magnetic resonance data from the VOI in the subject, subsequent to and dependent upon blood signal recovery and the inflow of fresh blood in a vessel within the VOI;

applying a second FSD preparation;

acquiring T2-weighted magnetic resonance data from the VOI, at the end of the scan; and

generating an image based on the magnetic resonance data.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the duration of the first FSD preparation is shorter than that of the second FSD preparation.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the VOI comprises a region of the subject'"'"'s heart.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the VOI comprises one or more anatomical structures selected from the group consisting of:

an arterial wall, the brain, heart muscle, and parenchyma of an organ.