• Takaharu Shonai, Tadashi Takahashi, Hiroaki Ikeguchi, Mitsue Miyazaki, Kiyoka Amano, and Masao Yui.
• Department of Radiology, KKR Sapporo Medical Center, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. shonai@sapmed.ac.jp
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2009 Jun 1; 29 (6): 1471-7.

PurposeTo evaluate whether short-tau inversion-recovery (STIR) fat suppression is worthwhile in non-contrast-enhanced respiration-triggered free-breathing time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (Time-SLIP) renal magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) compared with chemical shift selective (CHESS) fat suppression.Materials And MethodsSimulation-based analyses of inversion time (TI) for spatial-selective inversion-recovery (ssIR) pulse and breathing rate were performed, and confirmed on a phantom and in human subjects using a three-dimensional (3D) coherent steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequence on a 1.5T Toshiba scanner.ResultsThe STIR fat suppression successfully suppressed signals from the intestines and parenchymous organs and provided better contrast between the arteries and the background, although an extension of TI was required for the ssIR pulse when a patient's respiration was extremely slow.ConclusionSTIR fat suppression provides better renal artery contrast than CHESS fat suppression in non-contrast free-breathing Time-SLIP MRA; it is also an effective screening tool for renal artery stenosis because of the lack of interference from intestinal signals. However, close attention is needed if the patient has slow respiration. As the TI for the ssIR pulse decreases, the STIR method requires faster-paced respiration.

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