Question of the Month
Are blood pool agents easier to use in MRA than conventional contrast agents?
To date, clinicians have been very creative in employing the extracellular contrast media for vascular imaging. However, relatively few expert teams perform high quality MRA with existing contrast agents. With the introduction of blood pool agents, the radiologist will have the option of imaging multiple vascular beds in a single examination, thus compensating for the occasional missed bolus (which reportedly occurs in as many as 20% of examinations).
Furthermore, the long residence time also gives the radiologist much greater flexibility and time to perform the actual data collection. This in turn makes it possible to perform a more thorough examination with better selection of parameters for higher resolution images which both the radiologist and referring physician frequently desire in order to arrive at a complete diagnosis. Thus, the use of blood pool agents simplifies the MRA exam for the physician, the technician and last, but not least, also for the patient.