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Research progress of PET/MR imaging of carotid atherosclerotic plaque
FANG Ting  MENG Nan  BAI Yan  WEI Wei  HUANG Zhun  FENG Pengyang  WANG Meiyun 

Cite this article as: Fang T, Meng N, Bai Y, et al. Research progress of PET/MR imaging of carotid atherosclerotic plaque[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2021, 12(7): 105-109. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2021.07.025.


[Abstract] Carotid atherosclerosis is recognized worldwide as an important factor leading to ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. In the past, many clinical trials used to measure the degree of carotid artery stenosis as a means of risk stratification. With the advancement of vascular imaging technology, it is now possible to stratify the risk of cerebrovascular accidents in patients not only according to the degree of carotid artery stenosis, but also according to the fragility of plaque rupture. People realize that the stability and vulnerability of the plaque are more important than the degree of stenosis. Because atherosclerotic diseases are driven by dynamic biological processes (inflammation is a key component), imaging plaque biology and plaque structure may provide important insights. Carotid PET/MR imaging is non-invasive. It can not only identify high-risk plaques, but also measure and detect plaque burden and activity. This review reviews the role of different tracers for state-of-the-art PET/MR imaging of atherosclerotic plaques, including the principles of this imaging method, current limitations, and future applications.
[Keywords] positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging；stroke；carotid atherosclerosis；atherosclerotic plaque；positron emission tomography tracer

FANG Ting1   MENG Nan1   BAI Yan2   WEI Wei2   HUANG Zhun3   FENG Pengyang3   WANG Meiyun1, 2*  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, China

2 Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, China

3 Department of Medical Imaging,, Henan University People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, China

Wang MY, E-mail: mywang@ha.edu.cn

Conflicts of interest   None.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This article is supported by the National Key R&D Program Project (No. 2017YFE0103600).
Received  2021-03-16
Accepted  2021-05-06
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2021.07.025
Cite this article as: Fang T, Meng N, Bai Y, et al. Research progress of PET/MR imaging of carotid atherosclerotic plaque[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2021, 12(7): 105-109. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2021.07.025.

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