Association between 3D Geometry of Vertebrobasilar Arteries and Basilar Artery Atherosclerosis: An MRI Study

Geometry of VBA has been proved to be associated with the presence of BA plaques, yet relative studies are lack of 3D information due to methodological difficulties. We proposed a semi-automated algorithm for quantitative measurement, which can evaluate local diameter, local curvature and angles between vessels directly in 3D space. We used the proposed algorithm to measure the 3D geometric metrics and found significant association between VBA geometry and the presence of BA plaques. Normalized diameter variation of BA and BA & PCA-R angle projected to lateral view were also associated with the presence of BA plaques independently.