Computer Simulation of the Effects of Contrast Protocols on Aortic Signal Intensity on Magnetic Resonance Angiograms.

BACKGROUND While iodine-enhanced computed tomography has been studied, detailed information on gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging has not been reported. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of various gadolinium contrast agent (Gd-CA) factors on enhancement on aortic magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using computer simulation. METHODS We developed a computer simulation software combines pharmacokinetic models and tables that converts the blood concentration of particular Gd-CAs into the signal intensity (SI). We simulate aortic time-intensity curves (TIC) on MRA study. We compared the effect of the Gd-CA volume, injection rate, and different Gd-CAs on the TIC. RESULTS An increase in the Gd-CA volume from 14.0 to 28.0 ml increased maximal aortic intensity 1.11 times. Changing the injection rate from 1.0 to 2.8 ml/s increased it 1.10 times. Compared with gadoteridol, the maximal signal intensity (SI) of gadoterate-meglumine and gadobutrol was 1.03 and 1.01 times, respectively that of gadoteridol. CONCLUSION In our computer-simulated MRA study, different Gd-CA factors resulted in no significant difference in the maximal aortic SI.