PET/MRI in coronary artery disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Combined magnetic resonance coronary angiography and positron emission tomography in patients with coronary artery disease
IRAS ID
228236
Contact name
Michelle Claire Williams
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of death worldwide. It is therefore essential to develop imaging techniques to identify coronary heart disease and patients who are at risk of having a heart attack. In the blood vessels that surround the heart the build of a “plaque” in the wall of the blood vessel can put people at risk of having a heart attack. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner uses magnets to generate images of the inside of the body. When we inject a contrast agent into a vein in the arm we can use the MRI scanner to look at the blood vessels around the heart. A positron emission tomography (PET) scanner uses a tracer labeled with a radioisotope that is injected into a vein in the arm. The images from a PET scanner tell us where in the body the tracer is distributed and we can use this to tell us more about the processes that cause coronary heart disease. With a new type of scanner, a combined PET-MRI scanner, we will look at the blood vessels around the heart in healthy volunteers and patients with coronary heart disease. This will enable us to develop this combined imaging technique that can give us more information about the development of plaques in the blood vessels around the heart. We will look at the blood vessels of patients who have stable coronary artery disease (angina) and patients who have recently had a heart attach. This will enable us to develop an better understanding of some of the process involved in developing "plaques" in the blood vessels and the imaging methods we can use to detect and monitor coronary heart disease.
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
17/SS/0151
Date of REC Opinion
15 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion