Observation of the lenticulostriate arteries in the human brain in vivo using 7.0T MR angiography

Background and Purpose - We sought to examine the feasibility of observing the lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs) noninvasively by ultrahigh-field MRI with 7.0T. Methods - We used 3-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography with a radiofrequency coil optimized for 7.0T MRI. We examined the LSAs of 6 healthy subjects and compared 7.0T MR angiography images with 1.5T ones to examine the potentials of ultrahigh-field MRI for angiography. Results - The results show clear details of LSAs and their distribution in the normal healthy subjects with large variations in the shapes, the number of branches and the sites of origin. We also observed substantial differences between the left and right sides within each subject. Although we studied only 6 subjects, we found no age- or gender-related differences in the LSAs. Conclusions - The visualization of microvasculature of the brain, such as LSAs, using 7.0T MR angiography, is possible in in vivo human studies noninvasively. We, therefore, believe that it could play a major role in the study of small vascular abnormalities, such as the early stages of cerebral strokes.