Improved MR Techniques for Coronary Artery Imaging

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究项目的目标是开发和评估一套使用磁共振成像（MRI）进行无创冠状动脉成像的新技术。由于冠状动脉疾病仍然是美国人死亡的主要原因，一种能够准确检测和量化冠状动脉病变的无创冠状动脉成像方法将代表心脏护理的重大进步。冠状动脉和血管壁磁共振成像在过去几年中取得了重大进展。最近的临床研究已经取得了可喜的结果，但临床应用的准确性还不够高。该研究项目提出了提高磁共振冠状动脉造影和冠状动脉壁成像的准确性和可靠性的新技术。在一段时间的技术开发之后，将优化的冠状动脉成像方法与x线血管造影和血管内超声在疑似冠状动脉疾病患者中的对比研究。该项目将结合成熟的技术方案和持续的临床反馈，以促进方法的改进和完善。相关性：本研究项目旨在开发和测试心脏成像的新方法。这些新方法旨在检测和评估导致胸痛和心脏病发作的冠状动脉疾病。新方法是非侵入性的，因此，与现有方法相比，它们可以在更小的风险和不适的情况下诊断心脏病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this research project is to develop and evaluate a set of new techniques for noninvasive coronary artery imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because coronary artery disease remains the major cause of death in the United States, a noninvasive method for coronary artery imaging providing accurate detection and quantification of coronary artery lesions would represent a major advance in cardiac care. Coronary magnetic resonance artery and vessel wall imaging have made significant progress over the past few years. Recent clinical studies have yielded promising results, but the accuracy is not yet high enough for clinical use. The proposed research project proposes new techniques to improve the accuracy and reliability of both magnetic resonance coronary angiography and coronary wall imaging. A period of technical development will be followed by a comparative study of the optimized coronary artery imaging methods with x-ray angiography and intravascular ultrasound in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. This project will combine a proven technical program with constant clinical feedback to facilitate the improvement and refinement of the methods. Relevance: This research project proposes to develop and test new methods for imaging the heart. These new methods are designed to detect and evaluate coronary artery disease, which causes chest pain and heart attacks. The new methods are noninvasive, so they could allow diagnosis of heart disease with less risk and discomfort to the patient than existing methods.