Thoracic and Abdominal Aortic Diameter Measurement by MRI Using Plain Axial Volumetric Interpolated Breath-hold Examination in Epidemiologic Research: A Validation Study

Rationale and Objectives This study evaluates the validity and reliability of measuring the diameters of the thoracic and abdominal aorta from plain volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) images. Materials and Methods The study included 50 male subjects from the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania. They underwent imaging of the thoracic and abdominal aorta at 1.5 Tesla using a contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) and plain VIBE sequence. Diameters were measured at five predefined anatomic sites from reformatted orthogonal CE-MRA images and axial plain VIBE images. The measurements were validated using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analysis. The Bland-Altman method was also used to assess reliability. Results Comparison of the diameters measured from CE-MRA and VIBE images revealed strong correlation for the ascending, descending, suprarenal, and infrarenal aorta with r = 0.95 ( P r = 0.88 ( P P P r = 0.78 ( P Conclusions Axial measurement of the diameters of the thoracic and abdominal aorta using a plain axial VIBE sequence is highly valid and reliable, making it suitable for use in epidemiologic research.