CSF flow quantification of the cerebral aqueduct in normal volunteers using phase contrast cine MR imaging

To evaluate whether the results of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow quantification differ according to the anatomical location of the cerebral aqueduct that is used and the background baseline region that is selected.

The CSF hydrodynamics of eleven healthy volunteers (mean age = 29.6 years) were investigated on a 1.5 T MRI system. Velocity maps were acquired perpendicular to the cerebral aqueduct at three different anatomical levels: the inlet, ampulla and pars posterior. The pulse sequence was a prospectively triggered cardiac-gated flow compensated gradient-echo technique. Region-of-interest (ROI) analysis was performed for the CSF hydrodynamics, including the peak systolic velocity and mean flow on the phase images. The selection of the background baseline regions was done based on measurements made in two different areas, namely the anterior midbrain and temporal lobe, for 10 subjects.

The mean peak systolic velocities showed a tendency to increase from the superior to the inferior aqueduct, irrespective of the background baseline region, with the range being from 3.30 cm/sec to 4.08 cm/sec. However, these differences were not statistically significant. In the case of the mean flow, the highest mean value was observed at the mid-portion of the ampulla (0.03 cm(3)/sec) in conjunction with the baseline ROI at the anterior midbrain. However, no other differences were observed among the mean flows according to the location of the cerebral aqueduct or the baseline ROI.

We obtained a set of reference data of the CSF peak velocity and mean flow through the cerebral aqueduct in young healthy volunteers. Although the peak systolic velocity and mean flow of the CSF differed somewhat according to the level of the cerebral aqueduct at which the measurement was made, this difference was not statistically significant.