Fusion imaging technology of the intracranial veins

Fusion imaging technology (FIT) combines different imaging techniques by means of properly designed software. The aim of this study was to validate the ultrasonographic representation of intracranial vein anatomy by combining transcranial echo-colour Doppler (TECD) with conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, we investigated the possibility of insonating the veins of the base of the skull through the novel condylar window.

We examined venous brain circulation in five healthy subjects by means of FIT, using a 1.5 T MR scanner and an ultrasound TECD equipped with Virtual Navigator technology. Results and conclusions Insonation of the Rosenthal and other intracranial veins through the classical transtemporal window, based on anatomical assumption, but never before validated by means of FIT study, was confirmed. Moreover, in all five subjects, FIT demonstrated the possibility of insonating the petrosal sinuses and the cavernous sinus area through the novel transcondylar approach. In conclusion, the feasibility of FIT of the intracranial veins potentially permits to study subjects in different postures and/or at the bed of non-transportable patients, after the initial MRI acquisition. Finally, the novel transcondylar approach allows obtaining haemodynamic information from the cavernous and the petrosal sinuses usually not investigated by TECD alone.