CARDIAC PET, CT, AND MRI (S ACHENBACH, SECTION EDITOR) Magnetic Resonance Coronary Angiography: Where Are We Today?

# The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Although cardiovascular magnetic resonance allows the non-invasive and radiation free visualization of both the coronary arteries and veins, coronary vessel wall imaging is still undergoing technical development to im-prove diagnostic quality. Assessment of the coronary vessels is a valuable addition to the analysis of cardiac function, cardiac anatomy, viability and perfusion which magnetic resonance imaging reliably allows. However, cardiac and respiratory motion and the small size of the coronary vessels present a challenge and require several technical solutions for image optimization. Furthermore, the acquisition proto-cols need to be adapted to the specific clinical question. This review provides an update on the current clinical applica-tions of cardiovascular magnetic resonance coronary angi-ography, recent technical advances and describes the acquisition protocols in use