5T Non-Contrast One-Stop MRA for Thoracic Aorta and Coronary Arteries: A Prospective Feasibility Study in Healthy Volunteers

Background/Objectives: This prospective study evaluated the feasibility of a non-contrast 5T one-stop MRA protocol for simultaneous assessment of the thoracic aorta and coronary arteries and examined the effect of heart rate (HR) on image quality.

Methods

Thirty-four healthy volunteers underwent 5T MRA and were stratified by median HR into Low-HR (≤70 bpm, n = 17) and High-HR (>70 bpm, n = 17) groups. Subjective image quality was assessed using a 4-point scale, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and vessel edge sharpness (VES) were measured in predefined aortic and proximal coronary segments.