In-vivo quantification of wall motion in cerebral aneurysms from 2D cine phase contrast magnetic resonance images.

PURPOSE

The quantification of wall motion in cerebral aneurysms is of interest for the assessment of aneurysmal rupture risk, for providing boundary conditions for computational simulations and as a validation tool for theoretical models.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

2D cine phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (2D pcMRI) in combination with quantitative magnetic resonance angiography (QMRA) was evaluated for measuring wall motion in 7 intracranial aneurysms. In each aneurysm, 2 (in one case 3) cross sections, oriented approximately perpendicular to each other, were measured.

RESULTS

The maximum aneurysmal wall distention ranged from 0.16 mm to 1.6 mm (mean 0.67 mm), the maximum aneurysmal wall contraction was -1.91 mm to -0.34 mm (mean 0.94 mm), and the average wall displacement ranged from 0.04 mm to 0.31 mm (mean 0.15 mm). Statistically significant correlations between average wall displacement and the shape of inflow curves (p-value < 0.05) were found in 7 of 15 cross sections; statistically significant correlations between the displacement of the luminal boundary center point and the shape of inflow curves (p-value < 0.05) were found in 6 of 15 cross sections.

CONCLUSION

2D pcMRI in combination with QMRA is capable of visualizing and quantifying wall motion in cerebral aneurysms. However, application of this technique is currently restricted by its limited spatial resolution.