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Assessing cerebral microvascular pulsatility using flow pulsatile-resolved pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling
Tianrui Zhao1,2, Jianing Tang1,2, Yining He1,2
1Department of Radiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
|July 22, 2025
Summary
A new technique, flow pulsatile-resolved pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (FPR-pCASL), noninvasively assesses cerebral microvascular pulsatility. This reliable method shows promise for understanding blood flow dynamics and aging effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Cerebral microvascular pulsatility is crucial for brain health.
- Assessing microvascular pulsatility noninvasively is challenging.
- Existing methods may lack precision or invasiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel flow pulsatile-resolved pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (FPR-pCASL) technique.
- To enable noninvasive assessment of cerebral microvascular pulsatility.
- To investigate the impact of aging on microvascular pulsatility.
Main Methods:
- Implemented FPR-pCASL using a pCASL sequence with 3D gradient and spin echo acquisition.
- Synchronized cardiac pulse signals with pCASL imaging for cardiac phase-binning.
- Conducted numerical simulations and in vivo experiments to assess confounding factors and optimize parameters.
- Evaluated test-retest reproducibility, cross-validated with phase-contrast MRI, and performed an aging study.
Main Results:
- Numerical simulations indicated minimal confounding effects (labeling efficiency <3%, arterial transit time <2%) from cardiac variations on pCASL signals.
- Demonstrated good test-retest reproducibility for microvascular pulsatility index (PI) (ICC=0.86).
- Showed strong correlations between FPR-pCASL derived PI and macrovascular PIs from phase-contrast MRI.
- Observed significantly higher microvascular PI in elderly adults compared to younger adults.
Conclusions:
- The FPR-pCASL technique is feasible and reliable for directly assessing cerebral microvascular pulsatility.
- This method offers a noninvasive tool for studying microvascular function.
- Findings suggest potential age-related changes in cerebral microvascular pulsatility.
