Detection of a relation between respiration and CSF pulsation with an echoplanar technique

The flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through the aqueduct was studied with an echoplanar imaging technique. Images (1024) of a slice perpendicular to the aqueduct were acquired with a repetition time of 107 msec and a flip angle of 90 degrees. This imaging technique is very sensitive for flow into the selected slice, although a quantitative assessment of flow velocities is not possible. Simultaneously with the image data acquisition, data from a pulse oximeter and a respiration belt were recorded. For each data point, a delay time to the preceding cardiac pulse was determined from the recorded pulse wave. The signal intensities could then be assigned to the cardiac cycle. Each cardiac interval was assigned to one of eight respiratory phases, and an average signal curve during the cardiac interval was calculated for each respiration phase. The evaluation showed to signal maxima within the cardiac interval, which could be identified as a downward flow at 10% and an upward flow at 80% of the cardiac pulse interval by measurements with additional saturation pulses. In examinations of 22 healthy volunteers, an influence of respiration on the flow through the aqueduct was found. In spite of interindividual variability, comparable effects could be observed in all volunteers. In the late expiration phase the caudally directed flow was at its maximum, whereas the cranially directed flow was maximal in the post-inspiration phase.