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. 2021 Mar 30;11(4):253.
doi: 10.3390/jpm11040253.

Comparison of Hemodynamic Visualization in Cerebral Arteries: Can Magnetic Resonance Imaging Replace Computational Fluid Dynamics?

Minh Tri Ngo  1 , Ui Yun Lee  2 , Hojin Ha  3 , Ning Jin  4 , Gyung Ho Chung  1 , Yeong Gon Kwak  1 , Jinmu Jung  2   5 , Hyo Sung Kwak  1
Affiliations

Comparison of Hemodynamic Visualization in Cerebral Arteries: Can Magnetic Resonance Imaging Replace Computational Fluid Dynamics?

Minh Tri Ngo et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

A multimodality approach was applied using four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow MRI), time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) signal intensity gradient (SIG), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the 3D blood flow characteristics and wall shear stress (WSS) of the cerebral arteries. TOF-MRA and 4D flow MRI were performed on the major cerebral arteries in 16 healthy volunteers (mean age 34.7 ± 7.6 years). The flow rate measured with 4D flow MRI in the internal carotid artery, middle cerebral artery, and anterior cerebral artery were 3.8, 2.5, and 1.2 mL/s, respectively. The 3D blood flow pattern obtained through CFD and 4D flow MRI on the cerebral arteries showed reasonable consensus. CFD delivered much greater resolution than 4D flow MRI. TOF-MRA SIG and CFD WSS of the major cerebral arteries showed reasonable consensus with the locations where the WSS was relatively high. However, the visualizations were very different between TOF-MRA SIG and CFD WSS at the internal carotid artery bifurcations, the anterior cerebral arteries, and the anterior communicating arteries. 4D flow MRI, TOF-MRA SIG, and CFD are complementary methods that can provide additional insight into the hemodynamics of the human cerebral artery.

Keywords: cerebral arteries; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow MRI); hemodynamics visualization; signal intensity gradient from time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA SIG).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the multi-modality hemodynamic analysis of four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow MRI), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA) signal intensity gradient (SIG).
Figure 2
Figure 2
3D blood flow characteristics of the cerebral arteries obtained from CFD and 4D flow MRI. The major flow structures (white arrow) and the recirculation regions (black arrow) observed in the CFD coincided with those in 4D flow MRI. The same velocity scale bar with color was applied for all the images ranging from 0–1 m/s.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The differences in blood flow visualization between CFD and 4D flow MRI. (A) The blood flow in the anterior communicating artery (ACoA) is better visualized in CFD. (B) Low flows near the vessel wall are better captured by CFD. (C) Transitional flows at the ICA bifurcation visualized by CFD are of higher quality. The same velocity scale bar with color was applied for all the images ranging from 0–1 m/s.
Figure 4
Figure 4
3D wall shear stress (WSS) mapping derived from CFD and TOF-MRA SIG. A consistency was seen in the regions of high WSS at the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) M1 (black arrows) and left anterior cerebral artery (ACA) A1 (white arrows).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of CFD WSS with TOF-MRA SIG. The visualization was very different between the two techniques at the ACA (A), ACoA (B), and ICA bifurcation (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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