• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제21권12호
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• pp.1334-1344
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• 2020

Objective: Compressed sensing (CS) has gained wide interest since it accelerates MRI acquisition. We aimed to compare the 3D post-contrast T1-weighted volumetric isotropic turbo spin echo acquisition (VISTA) with CS (VISTA-CS) and without CS (VISTA-nonCS) in intracranial vessel wall MRIs (VW-MRI). Materials and Methods: From April 2017 to July 2018, 72 patients who underwent VW-MRI, including both VISTA-CS and VISTA-nonCS, were retrospectively enrolled. Wall and lumen volumes, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were measured from normal and lesion sites. Two neuroradiologists independently evaluated overall image quality and degree of normal and lesion wall delineation with a four-point scale (scores ≥ 3 defined as acceptable). Results: Scan coverage was increased in VISTA-CS to cover both anterior and posterior circulations with a slightly shorter scan time compared to VISTA-nonCS (approximately 7 minutes vs. 8 minutes). Wall and lumen volumes were not significantly different with VISTA-CS or VISTA-nonCS (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.964-0.997). SNR was or trended towards significantly higher values in VISTA-CS than in VISTA-nonCS. At normal sites, CNR was not significantly different between two sequences (p = 0.907), whereas VISTA-CS provided lower CNR in lesion sites compared with VISTA-nonCS (p = 0.003). Subjective wall delineation was superior with VISTA-nonCS than with VISTA-CS (p = 0.019), although overall image quality did not differ (p = 0.297). The proportions of images with acceptable quality were not significantly different between VISTA-CS (83.3-97.8%) and VISTA-nonCS (75-100%). Conclusion: CS may be useful for intracranial VW-MRI as it allows for larger scan coverage with slightly shorter scan time without compromising image quality.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.333-342
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• 2022

Objective: Intracranial atherosclerotic stroke occurs through various mechanisms, mainly by artery-to-artery embolism (AA) or branch occlusive disease (BOD). This study evaluated the spatial relationship between middle cerebral artery (MCA) plaques and perforating arteries among different MCA territory infarction types using vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (VW-MRI). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled patients with acute MCA infarction who underwent VW-MRI. Thirty-four patients were divided into three groups according to infarction pattern: 1) BOD, 2) both BOD and AA (BOD-AA), and 3) AA. To determine the factors related to BOD, the BOD and BOD-AA groups were combined into one group (with striatocapsular infarction [BOD+]) and compared with the AA group. To determine the factors related to AA, the BOD-AA and AA groups were combined into another group (with cortical infarction [AA+]) and compared with the BOD group. Plaque morphology and the spatial relationship between the perforating artery orifice and plaque were evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results: The plaque margin in the BOD+ group was closer to the perforating artery orifice than that in the AA group (p = 0.011), with less enhancing plaque (p = 0.030). In the BOD group, plaques were mainly located on the dorsal (41.2%) and superior (41.2%) sides where the perforating arteries mainly arose. No patient in the AA group had overlapping plaques with perforating arteries at the cross-section where the perforator arose. Perforating arteries associated with culprit plaques were most frequently located in the middle two-thirds of the M1 segment (41.4%). The AA+ group had more stenosis (%) than the BOD group (39.73 ± 24.52 vs. 14.42 ± 20.96; p = 0.003). Conclusion: The spatial relationship between the perforating artery orifice and plaque varied among different types of MCA territory infarctions. In patients with BOD, the plaque margin was closer and blocked the perforating artery orifice, and stenosis degree and enhancement were less than those in patients with AA.

• 대한영상의학회지
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• 제82권5호
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• pp.1281-1286
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• 2021

척추기저동맥의 혈류공급감소로 인한 뇌간 경색은 매우 드문 전신성 루푸스 환자의 초기 증상으로, 경색의 직접적인 원인으로 매우 작은 기저동맥 분지인 교뇌공급혈관의 박리성 동맥류는 보고된 사례가 없다. 이에 저자들은 디지털감산 혈관조영술과 고해상도 혈관벽 자기공명영상를 이용하여 작은 교뇌공급혈관의 박리성 동맥류의 진단과 추적관찰 중 치유된 20세 여성의 사례를 보고하고자 한다. 전신성 루푸스의 진단은 신경학적장애의 유무와 혈액화학검사 결과를 바탕으로 하였다. 추적 고해상도 혈관벽 자기공명영상에서 환자의 교뇌천공지의 박리성동맥류는 폐색되어 있었고 우측 척추동맥의 박리성동맥류는 치유되어 보이지 않았다. 환자는 퇴원 시 수정랭킨척도 점수가 1점으로 증상 개선을 보였으며 3개월과 12개월 추적관찰에서도 증상이 악화되지 않고 1점을 유지하였다.