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A study was conducted by BMC, whose objective is to develop a magnetic resonance method for ex vivo angiography and to compare the findings with computed tomography ( CT ).

To demonstrate the usefulness of this method, examples are provided from four different tissues and species: the human placenta, a rice field eel, a porcine heart and a turtle.

The optimal solution for ex vivo MR angiography ( MRA ) was a compound containing gelatine (0.05 g/mL), the CT contrast agent barium sulphate (0.43 mol/L) and the MR contrast agent gadoteric acid (2.5 mmol/L). It was possible to perform angiography on all specimens.

The researchers found that ex vivo MRA could only be performed on fresh tissue because formalin fixation makes the blood vessels permeable to the MR contrast agent.

Ex vivo MRA provides high-resolution of fresh tissue and delineates fine structures that we were not able to visualise using CT. Also, it was found that the use of our clinical imaging systems provided MRA which took advantage over CT angiography in its ability to visualize vessel configuration while avoiding interfering signals from adjacent bones.

The researchers also found that vascular tissue becomes leaky when formalin-fixed, leading to increased permeability and extracellular leakage of MR contrast agent.

Source : BMC

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