Evaluation of haemodynamic impairment and collateral flow in symptomatic carotid artery disease using arterial spin labelling MRI

Introduction: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a new MRI technique that provides information on cerebral hemodynamics by consecutive readout of labeled blood captured in arteries or in the microvasculature. The aim of the present study was to analyze the feasibility of ASL-MRI for the evaluation of both intracranial collateral pathways and hemodynamic compromise in patients with symptomatic high-grade stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Therefore, we used a combination of a dynamic ASL-based MR angiography (DynAngio), and of ASL time series optimized for microvascular perfusion analysis. M…