4D Flow MR Angiography of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Four Dimensional (4D) Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA): A Pilot Study for Growth and Survival Predictors
IRAS ID
155472
Contact name
Dorothee Auer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
The abdominal aorta is the largest blood vessel in the abdomen. When the wall of the aorta becomes weak, the vessel enlarges and its wall becomes thinner forming a balloon-like expansion called “aneurysm”.
Such wall weakening carries the risk of rupture leading to acute significant blood loss and mostly immediate death. To prevent this from happening, current UK surgical practice is to offer aneurysm repair when the aneurysm has reached a presumed critical size, namely 5.5 cm in diameter. The repair is either an open surgery or key-hole approach (Endovascular Aortic Repair, EVAR).
However, aneurysm progression is mostly asymptomatic and its outcome varies between individuals. Some can become quite large (10 cm) without rupturing and some may rupture early in the disease process. If we had better ways of predicting which aneurysms would rupture, we could target repair in those at high risk and avoid the risk and expense in those at low risk. This study aims to do this by using novel non-invasive imaging to study the biomechanical properties of the aneurysm wall to see if we can identify those at highest and lowest risk of rupture.
We will investigate aneurysm growth with a new imaging tool called "Four-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography, 4D MRA". This uses a short duration MRI scan to study real-time aneurysm pictures that show relative blood pressure, flow and wall-strength properties in order to identify signs of aneurysm growth and rupture risk.
Aims of the study:
This pilot study will investigate the changes in the relative blood pressure and flow (haemodynamic, HD) measurements derived from a new non-invasive imaging technique (4D MRA) in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and how these changes have the potential to predict aneurysmal growth and thus rupture risk. Study aims to identify haemodynamic imaging markers to predict aneurysmal growth.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0102
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion