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Updated: Aug 15, 2025
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Protocol for Stroke Onset Time Estimation in Permanent Cerebral Ischemia
Published on: September 16, 2017
A practical protocol for high-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance angiography for cerebral arteries in rats
Hiroshi Nagahama1, Masanori Sasaki2, Katsuya Komatsu3
1Department of Neural Regenerative Medicine, Research Institute for Frontier Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan; Division of Radioisotope Research, Biomedical Research, Education and Instrumentation Center, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8556, Japan.
Background:
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is an important tool in rat models of cerebrovascular disease. Although MRA has long been used in rodents, the image quality is typically not as high as that observed in clinical practice. Moreover, studies on MRA image quality in rats are limited. This study aimed to develop a practical high-spatial-resolution MRA protocol for imaging cerebral arteries in rats.
New Method:
We used the "half position method" regarding coil placement and modified the imaging parameters and image reconstruction method. We applied this new imaging method to measure maturation-related signal changes on rat MRAs.
Results:
The new practical high-spatial-resolution MRA imaging protocol obtained a signal intensity up to 3.5 times that obtained using a basic coil system, simply by modifying the coil placement method. This method allowed the detection of a gradual decrease in the signal in cerebral vessels with maturation.
Comparison With Existing Methods:
A high-spatial-resolution MRA for rats was obtained with an imaging time of approximately 100 min. Comparable resolution and image quality were obtained using the new protocol with an imaging time of 30 min CONCLUSIONS: The new practical high-spatial-resolution MRA protocol can be implemented simply and successfully to achieve high image quality with an imaging time of approximately 30 min. This protocol will benefit researchers performing MRA imaging in cerebral artery studies in rats.
