RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Estimating Flow Direction of Circle of Willis Using Dynamic Arterial Spin-Labeling MR Angiography
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 1419
OP 1426
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A8355
VO 45
IS 10
A1 Zhang, Kaiyu
A1 Akcicek, Halit
A1 Shi, Gen
A1 Canton, Gador
A1 Liu, Josh
A1 Guo, Yin
A1 Wang, Xin
A1 Chen, Li
A1 Pimentel, Kristi D.
A1 Akcicek, Ebru Yaman
A1 Tang, Xihe
A1 Jin, Yongjian
A1 Li, Xuesong
A1 Balu, Niranjan
A1 Hatsukami, Thomas S.
A1 Mossa-Basha, Mahmud
A1 Chen, Zhensen
A1 Yuan, Chun
YR 2024
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/45/10/1419.abstract
AB BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The circle of Willis (COW) is a crucial mechanism for cerebral collateral circulation. This proof-of-concept study aims to develop and assess an analysis method to characterize the hemodynamics of the arterial segments in the COW by using arterial spin-labeling (ASL) based non-contrast-enhanced dynamic MR angiography (dMRA).MATERIALS AND METHODS: The developed analysis method uses a graph model, bootstrap strategy, and ensemble learning methodologies to determine the time curve shift from ASL dMRA to estimate the flow direction within the COW. The performance of the method was assessed on 52 subjects, by using the flow direction, either antegrade or retrograde, derived from 3D phase-contrast MR imaging as the reference.RESULTS: A total of 340 arterial segments in the COW were evaluated, among which 30 (8.8%) had retrograde flow according to 3D phase-contrast MRI. The ASL dMRA-based flow direction estimation has an accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 95.47%, 80%, and 96.34%, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Using ASL dMRA and the developed image analysis method to estimate the flow direction in COW is feasible. This study provides a new method to assess the hemodynamics of the COW, which could be useful for the diagnosis and study of cerebrovascular diseases.AcomAanterior communicating arteryASLarterial spin-labelingCOWcircle of WillisdMRAdynamic MR angiographyPCphase-contrastPcomAposterior communicating arteryTCDtranscranial DopplertMIPtemporal dimension maximum intensity projection