Abstract

Aneurysm wall enhancement (AWE) after the administration of contrast gadolinium is a potential biomarker of unstable intracranial aneurysms. While most studies determine AWE subjectively, this study comprehensively quantified AWE in 3D imaging using a semi-automated method. Thirty patients with 33 unruptured intracranial aneurysms prospectively underwent high-resolution imaging with 7T-MRI. The signal intensity (SI) of the aneurysm wall was mapped and normalized to the pituitary stalk (PS) and corpus callosum (CC). The CC proved to be a more reliable normalizing structure in detecting contrast enhancement (p < 0.0001). 3D-heatmaps and histogram analysis of AWE were used to generate the following metrics: specific aneurysm wall enhancement (SAWE), general aneurysm wall enhancement (GAWE) and focal aneurysm wall enhancement (FAWE). GAWE was more accurate in detecting known morphological determinants of aneurysm instability such as size ≥ 7 mm (p = 0.049), size ratio (p = 0.01) and aspect ratio (p = 0.002). SAWE and FAWE were aneurysm specific metrics used to characterize enhancement patterns within the aneurysm wall and the distribution of enhancement along the aneurysm. Blebs were easily identified on 3D-heatmaps and were more enhancing than aneurysm sacs (p = 0.0017). 3D-AWE mapping may be a powerful objective tool in characterizing different biological processes of the aneurysm wall.

Details

Title
Semiautomated 3D mapping of aneurysmal wall enhancement with 7T-MRI
Author
Ashrita, Raghuram 1 ; Varon, Alberto 1 ; Roa, Jorge A 2 ; Ishii Daizo 3 ; Lu, Yongjun 3 ; Raghavan, Madhavan L 4 ; Wu Chaorong 5 ; Magnotta, Vincent A 6 ; Hasan, David M 3 ; Koscik, Timothy R 7 ; Samaniego, Edgar A 8 

 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294); University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa, Roy J Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa, Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
 University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294); University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294); University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Iowa City, USA (GRID:grid.214572.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8294) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2572729107
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.