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High resolution imaging of the intracranial vessel wall at 3 and 7 T using 3D fast spin echo MRI

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Abstract

Objectives

High resolution MRI of the intracranial vessel wall provides important insights in the assessment of intracranial vascular disease. This study aims to refine high resolution 3D MRI techniques for intracranial vessel wall imaging at both 3 and 7 T using customized flip angle train design, and to explore their comparative abilities.

Materials and methods

11 patients with intracranial artery disease (four atherosclerotic plaques, six aneurysms and one reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome) were imaged at 3 and 7 T with a 3D T 1-weighted fast-spin-echo sequence (SPACE) both pre and post Gd contrast injection. Wall to lumen contrast ratio (CRwall-lumen), contrast enhancement ratio (ER) and the sharpness of the vessel wall were quantified. Two experienced radiologists evaluated the image quality on a 0–5 scale.

Results

Both 3 and 7 T achieved good image quality with high resolution (nominal 0.5 mm isotropic) and whole brain coverage. The CRwall-lumen and the ER measurements were comparable (p > 0.05). The 7 T images were significantly sharper (sharpness: 2.69 ± 0.50 vs. 1.88 ± 0.53 mm−1, p < 0.001) with higher image quality (reader 1 score: 3.5 ± 1.1 vs. 2.4 ± 1.1, p = 0.002) compared to 3 T.

Conclusions

3D T 1-weighted SPACE can be used for intracranial vessel wall evaluation at both 3 and 7 T. 7 T provides significantly better image quality and improves the confidence of diagnosis.

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Authors’ contributions

Protocol/project development: Chengcheng Zhu, Henrik Haraldsson, John Grinstead, Sinyeob Ahn, Gerhard Laub, David Saloner. Data collection or management: Chengcheng Zhu, Henrik Haraldsson, Karl Meisel, Nerissa Ko, Michael Lawton. Data analysis: Chengcheng Zhu, Christopher Hess, Bing Tian

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA

    Chengcheng Zhu, Henrik Haraldsson, Bing Tian, Christopher Hess & David Saloner

  2. Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Karl Meisel, Nerissa Ko & Christopher Hess

  3. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Michael Lawton

  4. Siemens Healthcare, San Francisco, CA, USA

    John Grinstead, Sinyeob Ahn & Gerhard Laub

  5. Radiology Service, VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA

    David Saloner

Authors
  1. Chengcheng Zhu
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  2. Henrik Haraldsson
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  3. Bing Tian
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  4. Karl Meisel
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  5. Nerissa Ko
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  6. Michael Lawton
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  7. John Grinstead
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  8. Sinyeob Ahn
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  9. Gerhard Laub
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  10. Christopher Hess
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  11. David Saloner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chengcheng Zhu.

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Conflict of interest

John Grinstead, Sinyeob Ahn and Gerhard Laub are employees of Siemens. Other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was conducted under IRB approval of the University of California San Francisco (reference number: 10-03248).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Zhu, C., Haraldsson, H., Tian, B. et al. High resolution imaging of the intracranial vessel wall at 3 and 7 T using 3D fast spin echo MRI. Magn Reson Mater Phy 29, 559–570 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-016-0531-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-016-0531-x

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