Imaging Modalities to Visualize Deep Cerebral Perforating Arteries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Key Points

• This research aims to assess various imaging modalities for visualizing deep cerebral perforating arteries and their detection rates.
• Conducted a systematic review of existing studies on imaging techniques for cerebral arteries.
• Analyzed multiple imaging modalities including 7T and 3T MRI, CTA, and DSA.
• Evaluated detection rates and quality of studies, noting lack of anatomical validation.
• 7T MRA shows the highest detection rates, reaching up to 94%.
• Most studies conducted used healthy volunteers, raising questions about generalizability.
• Detection rates may overestimate true vessel visualization due to lack of rigorous validation.

Abstract