[Quantitative flow measurement of the vertebro-basilar circulation for positional vertigo by using 2D phase contrast...

Quantitative measurements of blood flow in the vertebral and basilar arteries were obtained by the 2D phase contrast (2D PC) technique. In phantom study, flow velocity measured with 2D PC correlated well with actual flow velocity. Sixty-six patients were neurologically normal and 20 had positional vertigo due to vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI). Mean velocities (MV) were measured by using a transverse plane in the vertebral arteries at the level of C3 and in the basilar arteries at the level of the sella floor. Volume flow rates (VFR) were calculated as the product of MV and the area of the arteries whose diameters were measured on the basis of pixel counting in the histogram of the signal intensity profile. In the normal group, MV of the left vertebral artery and MV and VFR of the basilar artery showed significant declines as age progressed. In the vertigo group, MV and VFR of the basilar artery were significantly lower than in the normal group. It is concluded that 2D PC technique appears to be fast and easy to handle without cardiac gating to assess blood flow in vessels surrounded by bone tissues.