Intracranial vascular stenosis and occlusion: comparison of 3D time-of-flight and 3D phase-contrast MR angiography

We compared the value of 3D time-of-flight (TOF) and phase-contrast (PC) MR angiography (MRA) for detection and grading of intracranial vascular steno-occlusive disease. Unenhanced 3D-TOF MRA and 3D-PC MRA (30–60 cm/s velocity encoding) were performed at the level of the circle of Willis in 18 patients, mean age 56 ± 10 years. Postprocessed images using a maximum-intensity projection reconstruction with multiple targetted projections were analysed. A total of 126 vessels was assessed by PC MRA and 143 by TOF MRA, with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in 15 patients and/or transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) in 18 as a standard. Two blinded readers reviewed the MRA, DSA and TCD examinations retrospectively. On DSA and/or TCD the two observers found 32 and 28 steno-occlusive lesions. 3D-TOF MRA was more sensitive than 3D-PC MRA (87 % and 86 % vs. 65 % and 60 %) and had a higher negative predictive value (96 % vs. 89 %). Correct grading of stenoses was achieved in 78 % by 3D-TOF and 65 % by 3D-PC MRA.