title: MRI of cerebral micro-vascular flow patterns: A multi-direction diffusion-weighted ASL approach.
abstract: The study and clinical assessment of brain disease is currently hindered by a lack of non-invasive methods for the detailed and accurate evaluation of cerebral vascular pathology. Angiography can detect aberrant flow in larger feeding arteries/arterioles but cannot resolve the micro-vascular network. Small vessels are a key site of vascular pathology that can lead to haemorrhage and infarction, which may in turn trigger or exacerbate neurodegenerative processes. In this study, we describe a method to investigate microvascular flow anisotropy using a hybrid arterial spin labelling and multi-direction diffusion-weighted MRI sequence. We present evidence that the technique is sensitive to the mean/predominant direction of microvascular flow in localised regions of the rat cortex. The data provide proof of principle for a novel and non-invasive imaging tool to investigate cerebral micro-vascular flow patterns in healthy and disease states.
authors.affiliation: 1 National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba, Japan.|2 UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.|4 Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: 1 National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saga
authors.affiliation: 1 National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kershaw
authors.affiliation: 1 National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aoki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D055806:Microvessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013113:Spin Labels
chemical_list: D013113:Spin Labels
keywords: Arterial spin labelling; diffusion imaging; magnetic resonance imaging; micro-vascular; perfusion