Characterization of Cerebral Perforating Arteries using submillimeter-resolution PC-MRI with Dual-VENC at 3T: A Feasibility Study

Direct characterization of cerebral perforating arteries, such as lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs), can provide valuable insight for understanding the pathology of small vessel diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of 7T PC-MRI for the characterization of LSA pulsatility. However, 7T MRI has not been in widespread use in both clinical and research studies, compared to conventional 3T. The current study aims to study the feasibility of using 3T dual-VENC PC-MRI to characterize LSA pulsatility. Our results show that 3T PC-MRI with dual-VENC offers reliable LSA pulsatility measurements that are comparable to 7T measurements.