Feasibility of image fusion for concurrent MRI evaluation of vessel lumen and vascular calcifications in peripheral arterial disease

OBJECTIVE. With MR angiography of peripheral arterial disease, calcifications are unapparent, so a separate calcification-sensitive pulse sequence (proton density–weighted in-phase 3D stack-of-stars [PDIP-SOS]) is needed for complete assessment. We hypothesized that, despite being acquired separately, MR angiography and PDIP-SOS images could be coregistered and fused without loss of significant diagnostic information. CONCLUSION. In a prospective study of 15 patients, MR image fusion enabled the simultaneous display of vessel lumen and vascular calcifications similarly to CT angiography.