NMR venography using the susceptibility effect produced by deoxyhemoglobin

Abstract

A new angiography technique using the susceptibility effect is proposed. Blood containing deoxyhemoglobin is more paramagnetic than surrounding tissue and thereby produces a susceptibility effect at blood-tissue interfaces. By use of a specially tailored RF pulse, signals from normal tissues are suppressed while the signals from blood interfaces, where strong susceptibility-induced fields are created, are enhanced. The design and characteristic behavior of the tailored RF pulse are discussed and experimental results obtained using both a phantom and a human volunteer with a 2.0-T whole-body NMR system are also presented.