title: [Inter- and intra-observer reproducibility of 3.0 T high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging for evaluating atherosclerotic stenosis in the middle cerebral artery].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the reproducibility of 3.0 T high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR MRI) for evaluation of atherosclerotic stenosis in the middle cerebral artery (MCA).
  
  
  METHODS
  From February, 2011 to December, 2013, 66 consecutive patients with MCA-M1 atherosclerotic stenosis (50%-99%) confirmed by digital subtractive angiography (DSA) received examinations with 3.0 T HR MRI for measurement of the vessel area (VA) and lumen area (LA) at the maximum narrow site (VA(narrow) and LA(narrow)) and the reference site (VA(reference) and LA(reference)) as well as the plaque distribution (ventral, dorsal, superior, and inferior). Two independent readers reviewed all the images and one reader reevaluated these images 4 weeks later. The inter- and intra-observer reproducibility was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The measurements of VA(narrow), VA(reference), and LA(reference) using HR MRI showed excellent inter- (ICC=0.801, 0.843, and 0.808, respectively) and intra-observer reproducibility (ICC=0.811, 0.916, and 0.958, respectively), but the measurement of LA(narrow) had only moderate inter- and intra-observer reproducibility (ICC=0.584 and 0.625, respectively). For plaque distribution analysis (ventral, dorsal, superior, and inferior plaques), HR MRI also showed excellent inter- (ICC=0.856, 0.836, 0.791, and 0.905, respectively) and intra-observer reproducibility (ICC=0.876, 0.827, 0.825, and 0.950, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HR MRI shows good inter- and intra-observer reproducibility in identifying MCA-M1 atherosclerotic plaque distribution and vessel and lumen measurements, but its reliability for lumen area measurement at the maximum narrowing site needs to be improved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Cerebrovascular Disease Center, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.E-mail: smmujiazejun@163.com.
authors.forename: Zejun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Qinghai
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wenyuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiaoqun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Jian-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results