Lei Zhang1,
2, Qing Zhai3, Na Zhang1, 2, XiaoXin
Tong3, Xin Liu1, 2, Yiu-cho Chung1,
2
1Paul
C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institution of Advanced
Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; 2Shenzhen
Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; 3Department of
Neurology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Intracranial atherosclerosis is a major cause of ischemic stroke. T1w-SPACE can be used to image vessel wall of intracranial arteries. However, scan time, spatial coverage and contrast compete with each other in this technique. Here, Bloch equation simulation was performed to understand the relationships among these key imaging parameters. Results were verified by volunteer study. In patients, a shorter than optimal TR was need to increase anatomical coverage. Intracranial plaques were successfully identified by pre- and post-contrast T1w-SPACE. This technique may be a clinically useful tool for screening intracranial arterial disease in patients with high risk of ischemic stroke.