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Whole-body MR angiography: initial experience in imaging pediatric vasculopathy

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Abstract

Radiological assessment of vasculopathy in children is typically undertaken with ultrasonography, echocardiography, conventional angiography, computed tomography and, more recently, positron emission tomography. Drawbacks of these modalities include radiation exposure or, in the case of ultrasonography, the dependence on operator skills and sufficient acoustic windows. With advancements in MR technology, which have improved sensitivity and shortened scan times, whole-body magnetic resonance angiography (WB-MRA) lends itself as a potential “one-stop shop” for vascular imaging. Currently, WB-MRA is primarily used in adult patients with atherosclerosis or multifocal regional vasculopathy. WB-MRA has not been employed in the routine assessment of pediatric vascular disease. The purpose of this article is to describe and illustrate our WB-MRA imaging technique for evaluation of pediatric vasculopathy.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Wendy Doda, Pallavi Sriram and Tommy Stuleanu for their help in the preparation of our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 555 University Ave., Toronto, M5G 1X8, Canada

    Terence S. Hong, Mary-Louise C. Greer, Lars Grosse-Wortmann & Shi-Joon Yoo

  2. Department of Medical Imaging, Royal University Hospital, 103 Hospital Drive, Rm. 1556-1, Saskatoon, Canada, S7N 0W8

    Paul S. Babyn

Authors
  1. Terence S. Hong
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  2. Mary-Louise C. Greer
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  3. Lars Grosse-Wortmann
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  4. Shi-Joon Yoo
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  5. Paul S. Babyn
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Correspondence to Paul S. Babyn.

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Hong, T.S., Greer, ML.C., Grosse-Wortmann, L. et al. Whole-body MR angiography: initial experience in imaging pediatric vasculopathy. Pediatr Radiol 41, 769–778 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-010-1958-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-010-1958-2

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