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Phased‐Array Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Carotid Artery Bifurcation: Preliminary Results in Healthy Volunteers and a Patient with Aherosclerotic Disease

A high resolution MR Imaging technique using a amtom designed flexible phased‐array surface coil was developed to examine the wall of the carotid artery bifuraction in vivo. The phaecd‐array consisted of two overlapping coils which increased the image signal‐to‐noise ratio at the depth of the carotid artery by approximately 70%, relative to a similarly sized single loop coil. The imaging protocol included a 2D T1‐weighted (TIW) spin‐echo scan and cardiac gated T2‐weighted and proton density‐weighted (PDW) fast Spin‐echo (FSE) scans. Images where obtained of six healthy volunteers and of one patient with known atherosclerotic dirreaw several days before carotid endartuectomy. On TIW and PDW images of the healthy volunteers. the carotid arterial wall appeared to be comprised of two concentric rings; a high signal inner ring and a lower signal outer ring. The MR images of the patient revealed a calcified carotid bifurcation plaque which was confirmed during surgery. The endarterectomy specimen WM imaged in vitro with MR and then sectioned histologically for correlation with the patients in vivo images. Our preliminary findings indicate that a high resolution technique may provide a noninvasive technique to study atherosclerosis of the carotid bifurcation.