Abstract #1289

Time of Flight Magnetic Resonance Venography of the Internal Jugular Vein: Applicability to Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency

Matthew P. Quinn¹,², Ravi S. Menon¹,²

¹Medical Biophysics, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; ²Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada

Recently, a role for abnormalities in extra-cranial veins in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been proposed. Diagnosis of this chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) requires studies with ultrasound, which is foreign to the conventional assessment of MS. Alternatively, MRI is used routinely for MS imaging. Time of flight (TOF) magnetic resonance venography (MRV) can be used to produce three-dimensional venograms and is capable of determining the presence of vascular lesions. We demonstrate that measurements of IJV cross-sectional area are sufficiently reproducible across serial venograms for use in MRI-based CCSVI protocols. Moreover, robust co-registration of serial MRVs is possible.