Purpose: Phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (PC-MRA) is a noninvasive technique which allows the measurement of blood velocity and velocity profile in the major intracranial vessels. Authors applied PC-MRA to the analysis of hemodynamic changes in major cerebral vessels in patients with cerebrovascular diseases.
Materials and Methods: Four healthy human volunteers and 16 patients with cerebral infarction, cerebral aneurysm, and arterio-venous malformation were examined with a 1.5 Tesla superconducting imaging system. Phase-contrast cine technique was applied to the measurement of blood flow. The data on blood velocity obtained from healthy volunteers were compaired with those measured with transcranial Doppler urtra-sonography (TCD).
Results: As to blood velocity in common carotid, internal carotid, external carotid, and middle cerebral arteries of healthy volunteers, linear relationships were obtained between the values measured with PC-MRA and those with TCD. The flow velocity distribution in the lumen of aneurysmal sac was evaluated with PC-RMA in 4 of 5 cases. In arterio-venous malformation, the flow pattern of feeding arteries were demonstrated with PC-MRA. In occlusive cerebrovascular diseases, flow pattern specific to post-stenotic region in arteries were estimated with PC-MRA.
Conclusion: PC-MRA is a noninvasive and useful method for evaluation of cerebral hemodynamics in patients with cerebral aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, and occlusive cerebrovascular diseases.
抄録全体を表示