Intracranial Vessel Wall MR Imaging: From Bench to Bedside

Abstract

An additional advantage of 7T is the relative ease with which CSF suppression is achieved, something that has not been matched at 3T yet. Finally, high SNRs and CNRs of 7T MRI enable more detailed assessment of other neurological pathology like (micro)infarcts and (micro)bleeds, which together with highly detailed vessel wall MR imaging might provide information on the cerebrovascular status of the individual patient. 27,28 However, the question remains whether these advantages have additional clinical value over data acquired at 3T.Nevertheless, for all its advantages, a major drawback of 7T MRI is that these platforms are only sparsely available, which makes widespread implementation of 7T MRI sequences in clinical practice currently impossible. Therefore, it is important that technical advancements and newly acquired insights can be translated back 14 CHAPTER 1 This ThesisThis thesis will address several of the current caveats in both implementation of intracranial vessel wall MRI sequences and clinical interpretation of imaging transition from research-based knowledge towards a radiological and clinically applicable imaging technique, both at 3T and 7T MRI.