OBJECTIVETo increase the probability of successful renal artery angiography with a three-dimensional contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (3D CE-MRA).

METHODS3D CE-MRA was performed in 33 patients with hypertension. To calculate the scan delay time, a testing contrast agent bolus of 2 ml was injected for single sagittal slice real-time scanning, followed by oblique coronal 3D Fast TOF SPGRE. With maximum intensity projection, a set of images was acquired.

RESULTSExact scan delay time was obtained in all the cases from which clear images were acquired with the exception of two cases in which failure of breath-holding occurred during the scanning.

CONCLUSIONThis examination enhances the performance by adopting elliptical-centric k-space recording for data acquisition for the center in k-space at the beginning of acquisition, and utilizing preceding testing bolus injection and signal intensity/time curve for determining the scan delay time, using slice selection and multiview image reconstruction.