MR precisely measures vessels after RF ablation

A study coordinated by German researchers has documented that MR works as well as x-ray angiography for measuring the diameter of peripheral vascular vessels after radio-frequency ablation.

Quantitative vessel analysis was performed with MR and x-ray angiography on the day after and three months after RF catheter ablation of atrial myofibrils at the orifice of the pulmonary veins in 46 patients with atrial fibrillation. The ostium and proximal 20 mm of all 138 pulmonary veins were measured using MRI acquired with a nongated, contrast-enhanced 3D FISP sequence followed by 3D reconstruction and quantitative vessel analysis. Dr. Thorston Dill and colleagues at the Kerckhoff Heart Center in Bad Nauheim, Germany, performed the exams in an average of six minutes.

Dill observed no significant difference between the MRI and the x-ray angiography measures. Average diameter size with MRI was 15.3 mm compared with 15 mm with angiography.