Magnetic Resonance Images Lipid, Fibrous, Calcified, Hemorrhagic, and Thrombotic Components of Human Atherosclerosis In Vivo

BACKGROUND: Although MRI can discriminate the lipid core from the collagenous cap of atherosclerotic lesions in vitro with T2 contrast, it has not yet produced detailed in vivo images of these human plaque components. METHODS AND RESULTS: We imaged seven lesions from six patients who required surgical carotid endarterectomy and calculated T2 in vivo before surgery in various plaque regions. Using the same acquisition parameters, we repeated these measurements in vitro on the resected fragment and compared MR images with histology. T2 values calculated in vivo correlate with in vitro measurements for each plaque component; the in vitro discrimination we demonstrated previously with T2 contrast can therefore be performed similarly in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is the first noninvasive imaging technique that allows the discrimination of lipid cores, fibrous caps, calcifications, normal media, and adventitia in human atheromatous plaques in vivo. This technique also characterizes intraplaque hemorrhage and acute thrombosis. This result may support further investigations that include MRI of plaque progression, stabilization, and rupture in human atherosclerosis.