1. MR Venography Ivan Pedrosa, M.D. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

2. Why MR Imaging? Conventional venography US Multiple injections
I.V. access in affected edematous extremity
Radiation / iodinated contrast US
Limited in central veins
Limited FOV and anatomic landmarks

3. Why MR Imaging? CT Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) Radiation
Iodinated contrast
Pitfalls due to poor opacification / mixing artifacts
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF)
Increased indications for non-contrast MRV

4. MRV Techniques Clinical Applications Dark Blood Imaging
Bright Blood Imaging
Gd-enhanced MRV
Clinical Applications
Chest
Abdomen
Pelvis

5. MRV techniques Non-contrast MRV Double IR Spin echo TOF
Dark blood Sequences
Bright blood Sequences
Double IR Spin echo
TOF
Double IR SSFSE
GRE (Cine)
Dynamic SSFSE
FIESTA (Cine)
Phase Contrast
Gd-enhanced MRV
3D FS T1-W GRE (VIBE, LAVA, THRIVE)

6. Spin Echo (“dark blood”)
180º
180º
90º
90º

7. HAlf-Fourier Single shot Turbo Spin Echo (HASTE or SSFSE)
K space
90º
180º
One second to collect the
whole image
Dark blood
Protons exit slice
Slow flow - ↑↑ SI
Thrombus - ↓↑ SI
The most important sequence in our MRCP protocol is the HASTE sequence.
HASTE stands for half fourier single shot turbo spin echo
Depending on the manufacturer this sequence is also named single shot fast spin echo or SSFSE
This MR sequence apply a 90 degree excitation pulse followed by a series of 180 degree pulses an it collects all the data for one image. By doing that we acquire the whole data without applying multiple 90 degree excitation pulses and we save time.
But we also save time because only half of the K space is acquired. The k space is a virtual space where the MR keeps the data that is collecting during the acquisition time. One characteristic of these space is that is symmetric so if we acquire half of the k space we can assume that the other halh of the k space has similar values.
This is how the k space is filled in the HASTE sequence. In fact we acquire a little bit more than half of the k space. This extra lines in the center, at the contralateral side, are obtained for mathematical calculations.
So by applying only one 90 degree pulse and collecting only half of the k space we save a lot of time. Typically one image is acquired approximately one second.
The second important characteristic about the HASTE sequence is that by changing our echo time or TE we can change the contrast of the image and the signal of the background tissues.
SSFSE/HASTE

8. Dynamic HASTE VALSALVA Intravascular signal void Valsalva
 intrathoracic P
 Venous return
T2 of blood is long

9. Dynamic HASTE VALSALVA Valsalva T2 of blood is long  intrathoracic P
 Venous return
T2 of blood is long

11. DB HASTE (“dark blood”)
180º
180º TI
180º
180º
90º TI

12. Double IR T1 FSE IR-T1W Cardiac-gated IR-HASTE
1 slice (~16 sec) breath-hold ~20 slices ( sec) breath-hold
2 slices with ASSET

13. Bright blood Sequences
TOF
GRE (Cine)
FIESTA (Cine)
Phase Contrast

14. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

15. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

16. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

17. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

18. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

19. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

20. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

21. Time-of-Flight (TOF)

22. TOF

23. TOF optimization for slow flow

24. TOF: in-plane saturation
Sagittal
Sagittal
Axial acquisition
Gad-MRV

25. TOF optimization for slow flow
Slice perpendicular to vessel of interest
Decrease slice thickness
Cardiac gating?
ECG Tracing
Blood flow (Pulse Oximeter)
Systole (arterial)

26. True FISP / FIESTA / Balanced FFE
True Fast Imaging with Steady-state Precession
Gradients are fully balanced in order to recycle the transverse magnetization in long T2 species
Contrast
T2 / T1 ratio
Blood vessels are bright (T2 of blood is )

27. True FISP Pros Cons Fast No breathing artifacts Thrombus
Road map
No breathing artifacts
Thrombus
Filling defect  SI
Cine True FISP
FIESTA
Cons
Artifacts
Pulsatile flow
Off-resonace
Acute / subacute thrombus

28. True FISP

29. True FISP
True FISP Gd-enhanced MRV

30. True FISP L
True FISP Gd-enhanced MRV
Pedrosa I. AJR 2005

31. Phase Contrast (PC)
2 equal and opposite Venc gradients between the excitation and echo.
With stationary protons, phase shifts induced by the first gradient are reversed and canceled by the second gradient.
In moving protons, the second gradient does not quite cancel out phase shifts induced by the first gradient
These phase shifts are detected and proportional to the amount of motion in the direction of the encoding gradients

32. Phase Contrast (PC) Phase Image Magnitude Image
High velocity flow towards the head (Ascending aorta)
Moderate velocity flow towards the head (Pulmonary artery)
Venc gradient applied in the slice (superior-inferior) direction
In the phase (velocity) image
Gray represents stationary background tissues
White represents blood flowing caudally (towards feet)
Black represents blood flowing cranially (towards head)
The intensity of white or black represents the magnitude of velocity in the respective directions
Phase Image
Moderate velocity flow towards the feet (SVC)
High velocity flow towards the feet (Descending aorta)
Magnitude Image

33. Phase Contrast (PC)
If Venc is chosen to be too low, aliasing (“wrap-around artifact”) occurs when velocities exceed that value causing velocities to mimic a “lower” value
If Venc is chosen to be too high, sensitivity to slow flow and accuracy of quantitative analysis of velocity/flow are diminished
Venc for venous imaging?
40-60 cm/sec
Venc set to 140 cm/sec, appropriate for this volunteer
Venc set to 70 cm/sec, too low for this volunteer. Aliasing or “wrap-around” results in the high-velocity flow areas of the aorta.
Phase Images

34. Phase Contrast (PC)
Venc = 40 cm/sec

35. Phase Contrast (PC)
3D PC

36. Gadolinium-enhanced MRV
Indirect MRV
Direct MRV

37. Indirect Venography I.V. access in any peripheral vein Gadolinium
Antecubital vein (Right UE)
Gadolinium
Single dose (~20 2 cc/seg
Single dose (~ cc/seg
20 cc 0.8 cc/seg
3D GRE T1
Subtractions
Venogram-like MIP reconstructions
Double dose Gd
Single injection/dual rate

38. Timing arterial phase

39. Indirect Venography
VENOUS
PHASE
ARTERIAL
PHASE -
SUBTRACTION =

40. Indirect Venography
SUBSTRACTION
MIP

42. Direct Venography I.V. access in affected extremity or bilateral
Gadolinium
5 cc Gd in 100 cc saline (1:20)
Tourniquet in lower extremities
3D GRE T1
Li W et al. J Magn Reson Imaging 1998; 8(3): 630-3

43. Direct Venography

44. Thrombus Characterization
Bland thrombus
No enhancement
Variable SI
Tumor thrombus
Enhancement on Gd-MRV
Subtractions!
Absence of enhancement does NOT exclude tumor thrombus
 SI on T2-weighted images

46. Tumor thrombus:
Intravenous leiomyomatosis U

47. Staging Acute thrombus Chronic thrombus
Enlargement of vein by intraluminal thrombus
 SI on T2-weighted images
Vessel wall
Thrombus
Perivascular soft tissue edema
 SI on T1-weighted images (subacute)
Chronic thrombus
Vein attenuated or not visible
Venous collaterals
↓ SI on all sequences

48. Acute thrombosis of the portal vein

49. T2W T1W post-contrast Trombosis aguda/subaguda Primaria
Síndrome de Paget-Von Schroetter
(“Effort thrombosis”)
Trombosis aguda/subaguda
Expansión de la vena con defecto de repleción
Edema en la pared de la vena (Señal  en T2)
Realce de la pared con Gd
< 14 d
Froehlich JB et al. J Vasc Surg 97;26:809
T1W post-contrast

50. Paget von Schrotter syndrome or “effort” thrombosis

51. Chronic Thrombosis
FIGURE 15

52. Venous thrombosis Is the thrombosis acute or chronic?
Do I need to anticoagulate this patient?

53. Acute/subacute thrombosis

54. brachiocephalic vein: chronic occlusion

55. Central catheter malfunction
Fibrin sheath

56. Clinical Indications

57. SVC syndrome Estrechamiento / obstrucción VCS
Disnea, edema facial ± EESS, dolor torácico.
Tumoral (74–95 %)
Pulmón (85%)
Otras (3-20%)
Catéteres centrales
Marcapasos (- frec)
Fibrosis mediastínica
Aneurisma aórtico

58. Venous Access Central catheters MRV chest Hemodyalisis Chemotherapy
Parenteral nutrition
Thrombosis in first 3 months (10%)
MRV chest
15 pts with occlusion or stenosis central veins
Venous access possible in 14 pts
Shinde TS et al. Radiology 1999;213:

61. IVC in Renal Cell Carcinoma
51 yo male with PE
Papillary carcinoma

62. Pulmonary Embolism

63. Isolated Iliac Vein DVT

66. Conclusion Central veins of the chest, abdomen and pelvis
Limited evaluation with US
Whole-body venous roadmap
Vascular access
Pregnancy