Vascular architecture mapping reveals distinct microvascular profiles in healthy grey and white matter

Vessel architecture mapping (VAM) is a quantitative MR imaging technique based on dynamic changes in gradient-echo (R2*) and spin-echo (R2) relaxation rates during contrast agent administration, that can characterize cerebral blood vessel microstructure and their changes in vivo. We aimed to establish VAM parameter reference ranges in healthy brain tissue by scanning n=135 patients with whole-brain high resolution VAM at 3.0 Tesla MRI. Subsequent analysis revealed distinct microvascular profiles for cortical gray matter, supratentorial white matter and examined subcortical nuclei. These reference values may serve as a starting point for future VAM studies on cerebrovascular pathologies.