3T High-Spatial-Resolution Contrast-Enhanced MR Angiography of the Intracranial Venous System with Parallel Imaging

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Fig 1.
Coronal 2D MPR images obtained from 2D TOF MRV (A), CE MRV (B), and MPRAGE sequences (C). The section thickness is 2.5 mm (A), 0.7 mm (B), and 1.2 mm (C). The number of bridging veins in both hemispheres was compared. On the MPRAGE sequences (C), the bridging veins could not easily be distinguished from dural enhancement (arrow).
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Fig 2.
3D MIP images obtained from 2D TOF MRV (A), and CE MRV (B). Note the flow gap in the left transverse sinus on 2D TOF MRV (A) and the intense and continuous signal intensity on CE MRV (B) images (arrows).
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Fig 3.
3D MIP images obtained from 2D TOF MRV (A), and CE MRV (B). The superficial veins were detected best by CE MRV (B).

Table 1.

Imaging parameters in CE MRV, TOF MRV, and MPRAGE sequences

Parameter	CE	TOF	MPRAGE
Sequence	3D FLASH	2D TOF	3D MPRAGE
Orientation	Sagittal	Coronal	Axial
TR (ms)	3.78	28	2250
TE (ms)	1.5	6.93	3.04
Inversion time (ms)			900
Flip angle (°)	15	60	9
Bandwith (Hz/pixel)	430	65	200
Section thickness (mm)	0.4	2.5	1.2
Sections/partitions	416	128	144
Distant factor (%)		−33
FOV (mm)	(270–290)²	220 × 220	220 × 220
Matrix	384 × 384	256 × 256	384 × 384
GRAPPA-factor	2	2	2
Acquisition time (min. sec)	1.15	5.14	5.35

Note:—CE indicates contrast-enhanced MR venography; FLASH, fast low-angle shot; TOF, time-of-flight MR venography; MPRAGE, magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition of gradient echo; GRAPPA, generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition.

Table 2.

Comparison (P < .05) of the image quality of unpaired cerebral sinuses and veins in TOF MRV, CE MRV, and MPRAGE sequences

Venous structure	Mean scores	CE/TOF	CE/MPRAGE	MPRAGE/TOF
	CE/TOF/MPRAGE	Superior	Superior	Superior
Superior sagittal sinus	3.0/2.9/2.0	None	CE	TOF
Inferior sagittal sinus	2.3/1.6/2.0	CE	CE	None
Vein of Galen	3.0/2.6/3.0	CE	None	MPRAGE
Straight sinus	3.0/3.0/2.7	None	CE	TOF
Intercavernous sinus	2.6/0.4/2.1	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Basilar plexus	0/0/0	None	None	None

Note:—CE indicates contrast-enhanced MR venography; TOF, time-of-flight MR venography; MPRAGE, magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition of gradient echo.

Table 3.

Comparison (P < .05) of the image quality of paired sinuses and veins and bridging veins in TOF MRV, CE MRV, and MPRAGE sequences

Venous structure	Mean scores/number	CE/TOF	CE/MPRAGE	MPRAGE/TOF
	CE/TOF/MPRAGE	Superior	Superior	Superior
Transverse sinuses	R:3.0/2.6/3.0 L:3.0/2.2/3.0	CE	None	MPRAGE
Sigmoid sinus R	3.0/2.4/2.0	CE	CE	TOF
Sigmoid sinus L	3.0/2.1/2.0	CE	CE	None
Jugular bulbs	R:3.0/2.2/2.0 L:3.0/2.1/2.0	CE	CE	None
Septal veins R	2.0/1.6/1.8	CE	CE	None
Septal veins L	2.0/1.6/1.9	CE	None	MPRAGE
Thalamostriate veins	R:2.0/1.7/2.0 L:2.0/1.6/2.0	CE	None	MPRAGE
Internal cerebral veins	R:3.0/3.0/3.0 L:3.0/3.0/3.0	None	None	None
Cavernous sinuses	R:2.2/1.0/2.0 L:2.2/1.0/2.0	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Sphenoparietal sinuses	R:2.5/0.6/2.1 L:2.3/0.7/2.0	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Superior petrosal sinuses	R:1.5/0.6/1.5 L:1.8/0.7/1.6	CE	None	MPRAGE
Inferior petrosal sinuses	R:2.6/1.2/2.0 L:2.3/0.8/2.0	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Basal veins of Rosenthal	R:3.0/2.3/2.9 L:3.0/2.6/2.9	CE	None	MPRAGE
Trolard veins	R:2.3/1.0/1.7 L:2.5/1.1/1.8	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Labbé vein R	3.0/2.1/2.6	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Labbé vein L	3.0/2.4/3.0	CE	None	MPRAGE
Sup. middle cerebral vein	R:2.9/1.8/2.3 L:2.8/1.5/2.3	CE	CE	MPRAGE
Bridging veins	R:8.8/3.6/4.9 L:7.9/3.3/4.4	CE	CE	MPRAGE

Note:—CE indicates contrast-enhanced MR venography; TOF, time-of-flight MR venography; MPRAGE, magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition of gradient echo; R, right; L, left; Sup, superior.