Willem Bouvy1, 2, Jaco J.M. Zwanenburg3, Jeroen Hendrikse3, Fredy Visser4, Peter R. Luijten3, Jaap Kappelle1, 2, Geert Jan Biessels1, 2
1Neurology, Utrecht University Medical Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Rudolph Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht, Netherlands; 3Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 4Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherlands
We developed a 7 Tesla imaging protocol to study the perivascular spaces (PVS) and their correlation with perforating arteries and veins in the brain. Four young, healthy volunteers were scanned. Perivascular spaces were well visualized in all subjects. In the basal ganglia region PVS were connected to the basal cisterns and could be linked to lenticulostriate arteries. In the lobar region PVS could in general not be linked to perforating arteries, but some PVS could be linked to veins. The ability to map PVS and vessels in detail may help to further understand PVS and their relationship to cardiovascular disease.