Observation of the Cerebral Perforating Arteries around Circle of Willis Using Compressed Sensing Time-of-Flight at 7T

The impairment of microvessels can lead to neurologic diseases such as stroke and vascular dementia. Perforating arteries imaging requires an extremely high resolution due to their small caliber size. In this study, for the first time, the feasibility of noninvasive visualization of perforators around Circle of Willis in vivo was demonstrated by using 7T compressed sensing TOF. The number of stems and branches of the perforators was then calculated. The origin and anatomical distribution of the perforating arteries are described. This work revealed that ultra-high-resolution CS TOF might be a promising method for detecting microvasculopathies of cerebral vascular diseases.