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Assessment of blood flow velocity and pulsatility in cerebral perforating arteries with 7-T quantitative flow MRI.

ABSTRACT: Thus far, blood flow velocity measurements with MRI have only been feasible in large cerebral blood vessels. High-field-strength MRI may now permit velocity measurements in much smaller arteries. The aim of this proof of principle study was to measure the blood flow velocity and pulsatility of cerebral perforating arteries with 7-T MRI. A two-dimensional (2D), single-slice quantitative flow (Qflow) sequence was used to measure blood flow velocities during the cardiac cycle in perforating arteries in the basal ganglia (BG) and semioval centre (CSO), from which a mean normalised pulsatility index (PI) per region was calculated (n = 6 human subjects, aged 23-29 years). The precision of the measurements was determined by repeated imaging and performance of a Bland-Altman analysis, and confounding effects of partial volume and noise on the measurements were simulated. The median number of arteries included was 14 in CSO and 19 in BG. In CSO, the average velocity per volunteer was in the range 0.5-1.0 cm/s and PI was 0.24-0.39. In BG, the average velocity was in the range 3.9-5.1 cm/s and PI was 0.51-0.62. Between repeated scans, the precision of the average, maximum and minimum velocity per vessel decreased with the size of the arteries, and was relatively low in CSO and BG compared with the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery. The precision of PI per region was comparable with that of M1. The simulations proved that velocities can be measured in vessels with a diameter of more than 80 µm, but are underestimated as a result of partial volume effects, whilst pulsatility is overestimated. Blood flow velocity and pulsatility in cerebral perforating arteries have been measured directly in vivo for the first time, with moderate to good precision. This may be an interesting metric for the study of haemodynamic changes in aging and cerebral small vessel disease. © 2015 The Authors NMR in Biomedicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SUBMITTER: Bouvy WH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5008170 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessment of blood flow velocity and pulsatility in cerebral perforating arteries with 7-T quantitative flow MRI.

Bouvy W H WH Geurts L J LJ Kuijf H J HJ Luijten P R PR Kappelle L J LJ Biessels G J GJ Zwanenburg J J M JJ

NMR in biomedicine 20150427 9

Thus far, blood flow velocity measurements with MRI have only been feasible in large cerebral blood vessels. High-field-strength MRI may now permit velocity measurements in much smaller arteries. The aim of this proof of principle study was to measure the blood flow velocity and pulsatility of cerebral perforating arteries with 7-T MRI. A two-dimensional (2D), single-slice quantitative flow (Qflow) sequence was used to measure blood flow velocities during the cardiac cycle in perforating arterie ...[more]

PMID: 25916399

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Project description:BackgroundDamping of heartbeat-induced pressure pulsations occurs in large arteries such as the aorta and extends to the small arteries and microcirculation. Since recently, 7 T MRI enables investigation of damping in the small cerebral arteries.PurposeTo investigate flow pulsatility damping between the first segment of the middle cerebral artery (M1) and the small perforating arteries using magnetic resonance imaging.Study typeRetrospective.SubjectsThirty-eight participants (45% female) aged above 50 without history of heart failure, carotid occlusive disease, or cognitive impairment.Field strength/sequence3 T gradient echo (GE) T1-weighted images, spin-echo fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images, GE two-dimensional (2D) phase-contrast, and GE cine steady-state free precession images were acquired. At 7 T, T1-weighted images, GE quantitative-flow, and GE 2D phase-contrast images were acquired.AssessmentVelocity pulsatilities of the M1 and perforating arteries in the basal ganglia (BG) and semi-oval center (CSO) were measured. We used the damping index between the M1 and perforating arteries as a damping indicator (velocity pulsatilityM1 /velocity pulsatilityCSO/BG ). Left ventricular stroke volume (LVSV), mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulse pressure (PP), and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) were correlated with velocity pulsatility in the M1 and in perforating arteries, and with the damping index of the CSO and BG.Statistical testsCorrelations of LVSV, MAP, PP, and PWV with velocity pulsatility in the M1 and small perforating arteries, and correlations with the damping indices were evaluated with linear regression analyses.ResultsPP and PWV were significantly positively correlated to M1 velocity pulsatility. PWV was significantly negatively correlated to CSO velocity pulsatility, and PP was unrelated to CSO velocity pulsatility (P = 0.28). PP and PWV were uncorrelated to BG velocity pulsatility (P = 0.25; P = 0.68). PWV and PP were significantly positively correlated with the CSO damping index.Data conclusionOur study demonstrated a dynamic damping of velocity pulsatility between the M1 and small cerebral perforating arteries in relation to proximal stress.Level of evidence4 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.

Project description:Cerebral perforating artery flow velocity and pulsatility can be measured using 7 tesla (T) MRI. Enabling these flow metrics on more widely available 3T systems would make them more employable. It is currently unknown whether these measurements can be performed at 3T MRI due to the lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate if flow velocity and pulsatility in the perforating arteries of the basal ganglia (BG) can be measured at 3T MRI and assess the agreement with 7T MRI measurements as reference. Twenty-nine subjects were included, of which 14 patients with aortic coarctation [median age 29 years (21-72)] and 15 controls [median age 27 years (22-64)]. Using a cardiac-gated 2D phase-contrast MRI sequence BG perforating arteries were imaged at 3T and 7T MRI and perforating artery density (N density , #/cm2), flow velocity (V mean , cm/s) and pulsatility index (PI) were determined. Agreement between scanner modalities was assessed using correlation and difference plots with linear regression. A p-value ≤ 0.05 indicated statistical significance. It was shown that perforating artery flow velocity and pulsatility can be measured at 3T MRI (N density = 0.21 ± 0.11; V mean = 6.04 ± 1.27; PI = 0.49 ± 0.19), although values differed from 7T MRI measurements (N density = 0.95 ± 0.21; V mean = 3.89 ± 0.56; PI = 0.28 ± 0.08). The number of detected arteries was lower at 3T (5 ± 3) than 7T MRI (24 ± 6), indicating that 3T MRI is on average a factor 4.8 less sensitive to detect cerebral perforating arteries. Comparison with 7T MRI as reference showed some agreement in N density , but little to no agreement for V mean and PI. Equalizing the modalities' sensitivity by comparing the detected arteries on 7T MRI with the highest velocity with all vessels detected on 3T MRI, showed some improvement in agreement for PI, but not for V mean . This study shows that it is possible to measure cerebral perforating artery flow velocity and pulsatility at 3T MRI, although an approximately fivefold sample size is needed at 3T relative to 7T MRI for a given effect size, and the measurements should be performed with equal scanner field strength and protocol.

Dataset Information

Assessment of blood flow velocity and pulsatility in cerebral perforating arteries with 7-T quantitative flow MRI.

Publications

Assessment of blood flow velocity and pulsatility in cerebral perforating arteries with 7-T quantitative flow MRI.

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