Artikel
Superselective arterial spin-labelling: Feasibility of a non-invasive MR-technique to determine the vascular supply of intracranial lesions
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Veröffentlicht: | 28. April 2011 |
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Objective: Supraselective arterial spin labelling (ASL) is an MR-technique, which allows "excitation" of blood in a selected vessel. The distribution of this "labelled" blood and thus the area supplied by this vessel can be visualized subsequently. While this technique had been used for vascular lesions, our objective was whether this method could be utilized to investigate the vascular territories within neoplastic intracranial lesions. To evaluate the feasibility of this technique, both in regards to the vessel size targeted as well as tumor blood supply, we chose meningiomas as a potentially simple challenge.
Methods: In 6 patients harbouring meningiomas supraselective ASL was performed. Both internal carotid arteries (ICAs), the basilar artery (BA) and the external carotid arteries (ECAs) and the median meningeal artery were labelled. The respective perfusion territories were colour-coded and compared to the cross-sectional contrast-enhanced T1W structural images.
Results: Supraselective ASL has been successfully applied in all patients. Vessels as small as the contralateral, normal median meningeal artery could be targeted. The "labelled" blood could be imaged within the tumour. In 3 patients the tumor was exclusively supplied by the ipsilateral ECA or ICA. In 3 patients the measurements suggested a blood supply of the meningioma by the ipsilateral ICA as well as the ECA, thus identifying more than one compartment.
Conclusions: The results of this initial feasibility study were more promising than anticipated. We were able to target small vessels, and thus identify their supplied area within a tumour. In a subgroup we could even show the potential of this method to differentiate separate compartments supplied by different vessels. While these preliminary results have to be validated in a larger series, we are optimistic, that with this non-invasive non-contrast MR-technique accurate mapping of neoplastic vascular architecture can be deduced. Our goal is to extend this technique to intraaxial lesions.