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62nd Annual Meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)
Joint Meeting with the Polish Society of Neurosurgeons (PNCH)

German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)

7 - 11 May 2011, Hamburg

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Superselective arterial spin-labelling: Feasibility of a non-invasive MR-technique to determine the vascular supply of intracranial lesions

Meeting Abstract

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  • A. Nabavi - Clinic for Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
  • M. Helle - Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
  • S. Rüfer - Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
  • M.J.P. van Osch - C.J. Gorter Center for high field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
  • D.G. Norris - Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen, Germany
  • L. Dörner - Clinic for Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
  • O. Jansen - Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
  • H.M. Mehdorn - Clinic for Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. Polnische Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgen. 62. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC), Joint Meeting mit der Polnischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgen (PNCH). Hamburg, 07.-11.05.2011. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2011. DocMO.04.12

doi: 10.3205/11dgnc020, urn:nbn:de:0183-11dgnc0209

Published: April 28, 2011

© 2011 Nabavi et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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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.