MRI as a tool for non-invasive vascular profiling: a pilot study in patients with aortic coarctation

Aim: While the overall concept of aortic coarctation has changed from one of simple obstruction to one that includes significant vascular dysfunction, this has not yet been translated into the diagnostic and treatment process. To close this gap, we sought to demonstrate the usefulness of an additional non-invasive vascular profile. Method: During a pilot study in eight coarctation patients, aortic area compliance, aortic distensibility, time phase shift and blood flow (distribution) were calculated from cine-MRI and 2D-/4D-velocity-encoded MRI sequences. Results: Compared to healthy individuals, a significantly lower aortic compliance and reduced flow to the descending aorta were found in patients with coarctation. Discussion: These differences underline the potential usefulness of a combined vascular profile in coarctation patients. Conclusion: It was successfully shown that functional vascular profiling of the aorta is feasible to be acquired non-invasively in a clinical setting and can provide additional diagnostic information. These can be the key input parameters for computational fluid dynamics-modeling.