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Vessel length on SNAP MRA and TOF MRA is a potential imaging biomarker for brain blood flow

Anders Gould1, Zhensen Chen2, Duygu Baylam Geleri3

  • 1Vascular Imaging Lab, Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
|March 10, 2021
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Vessel length measured by Time-of-Flight (TOF) or Simultaneous Non-contrast Angiography and Intraplaque Hemorrhage (SNAP) MRA shows potential as an imaging biomarker for brain blood flow. SNAP vessel length demonstrated a stronger correlation with established blood flow measurements.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Cerebrovascular Imaging
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Carotid atherosclerotic disease affects intracranial arteries, impacting cerebral blood flow.
  • Accurate assessment of brain blood flow is crucial for managing cerebrovascular diseases.
  • Novel imaging biomarkers are needed to non-invasively evaluate brain hemodynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the feasibility of using intracranial vessel length from TOF-MRA and SNAP-MRA as imaging biomarkers for brain blood flow.
  • To compare the performance of TOF-MRA and SNAP-MRA vessel length against reference standards like ASL and 3D PC imaging.

Main Methods:

  • Thirty subjects with carotid atherosclerotic disease were included.
  • Intracranial arteries on TOF and SNAP MRA were semi-automatically traced to calculate vessel length.
  • Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) and 3D Phase Contrast (PC) imaging were used as reference methods for quantitative blood flow measurements.

Main Results:

  • SNAP MRA showed a significantly larger vessel length compared to TOF MRA.
  • Both TOF and SNAP vessel lengths correlated with ASL and 3D PC blood flow measurements.
  • SNAP vessel length exhibited higher correlation coefficients with ASL (R=0.711) and 3D PC (R=0.425) compared to TOF vessel length.

Conclusions:

  • Intracranial vessel length derived from TOF or SNAP MRA shows promise as a potential imaging biomarker for assessing brain blood flow.
  • SNAP MRA vessel length appears to be a more robust correlate of quantitative cerebral blood flow compared to TOF MRA vessel length.
Keywords:
Arterial spin labelingCerebral blood flowMRAPhase contrastSNAPTime of flight

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