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(Stroke. 2008;39:1894.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Research Letters

Assessment of Intracranial Collateral Flow by Using Dynamic Arterial Spin Labeling MRA and Transcranial Color-Coded Duplex Ultrasound

Fabrizio Sallustio, MD; Rolf Kern, MD; Matthias Günther, PhD; Kristina Szabo, MD; Martin Griebe, MD; Stephen Meairs, MD; Michael Hennerici, MD Achim Gass, MD

From Department of Neurology, Universitätsklinikum Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.

Correspondence to Rolf Kern, MD, Department of Neurology, Universitätsklinikum Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, 68135 Mannheim, Germany; E-mail kern{at}neuro.ma.uni-heidelberg.de

Background and Purpose— To evaluate the potential of a new dynamic MRA sequence (DynAngio) based on arterial spin labeling for the assessment of intracranial collateral flow.

Methods— Twelve patients with unilateral internal carotid artery obstruction were investigated. Different patterns of collateral flow were compared between DynAngio, transcranial color-coded duplex ultrasound, and time-of-flight MRA.

Results— There was a good agreement between the methods, with sensitivities between 80% and 90%. Small collateral vessels were detected more frequently with DynAngio compared to time-of-flight MRA.

Conclusion— DynAngio provides anatomic and similar to transcranial color-coded duplex ultrasound functional information on collateral flow for the assessment of intracranial hemodynamics.

Key Words: carotid stenosis • collateral circulation • diagnostic imaging • magnetic resonance angiography • transcranial ultrasound