Impact of Intra-Arterial Injection Parameters on Arterial, Capillary, and Venous Time-Concentration Curves in a Canine Model

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent advances in flat panel detector angiographic equipment have provided the opportunity to obtain physiologic and anatomic information from angiographic examina-tions. To exploit this possibility, one must understand the factors that affect the bolus geometry of an intra-arterial injection of contrast medium. It was our purpose to examine these factors in a canine model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Under an institutionally approved protocol conforming to Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health, 7 canines were placed under general anesthesia with isoflurane and propofol. Through a 5F catheter placed into the right common carotid artery, a series of biplane angiographic acquisitions was obtained to examine the effects caused by variation in the volume of injection, the rate of injection, the duration of injection, the concentration of contrast medium, and the catheter position on arterial, capillary, and venous opacifi-cation. The results of each injection protocol were determined from analysis of a time-contrast concentration curve derived from locations over an artery, in brain parenchyma, and over a vein. The curve was generated from 2D digital subtraction angiography acquisitions by using prototype software. The area under the curve, the amplitude of the curve, and the time to peak (TTP) were analyze