Cerebrovascular Peak-Velocity Mapping in Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease (ICAD) using 4D Flow MRI

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) accounts for 10-50% of acute ischemic strokes and is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. We used a semi-automated voxel-wise velocity-based mapping approach to visualize and quantify global and regional peak velocities (PVs) in the Circle of Willis (CoW) in 31 ICAD patients with moderate to severe MCA or ICA stenosis and 23 healthy controls. Our findings indicate 4D flow MRI-based cerebrovascular PV mapping can detect asymmetric PV distribution in the CoW on hemispheric and vessel levels. Future work will include investigation of PV asymmetry measures in the assessment of ICAD progression and outcomes.