Middle Cerebral Artery Blood Flows by Combining TCD Velocities and MRA Diameters: In Vitro and In Vivo Validations

• Published in: Ultrasound in medicine & biology Vol. 40; no. 11; pp. 2692 - 2699
• Main Authors: Yonan, K.A, Greene, E.R, Sharrar, J.M, Caprihan, A, Qualls, C, Roldan, C.A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01-11-2014
• Subjects: Adult; Blood Flow Velocity; Body Weights and Measures - methods; Female; Flow phantom; Humans; In Vitro Techniques - methods; Internal carotid artery blood flow; In vitro and in vivo validation; Magnetic resonance angiography; Magnetic Resonance Angiography - methods; Male; Middle Cerebral Artery - anatomy & histology; Middle Cerebral Artery - diagnostic imaging; Middle cerebral artery blood flow; Middle cerebral artery blood velocity; Middle cerebral artery lumen diameter; Phantoms, Imaging; Radiology; Reproducibility of Results; Transcranial Doppler; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial - methods; Middle cerebral artery blood flow; Middle cerebral artery lumen diameter; Flow phantom; Magnetic resonance angiography; Middle cerebral artery blood velocity; In vitro and in vivo validation; Internal carotid artery blood flow; Transcranial Doppler
• ISSN: 0301-5629; 1879-291X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.05.022

Abstract Non-invasive transcranial Doppler (TCD) is widely used for blood velocity (BV, cm/sec) measurements in the human middle cerebral artery (MCA). MCABV measurements are accepted as linear with MCA blood flow (MCABF). Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) provides measurements of MCA lumen diameters that can be combined with TCD MCABV to calculate MCABF (mL/min). We tested the precision and accuracy of this method against a flow phantom and in vivo proximal internal carotid artery blood flow (ICABF). In vitro precision (repeated measures) and accuracy (vs. time collection) gave correlations coefficients of 0.97 and 0.98, respectively (both p  < 0.05). In vivo precision (repeated measures) and accuracy (vs. ICABF) gave correlation coefficients of 0.90 (left and right), 0.94 (left) and 0.93 (right) (all p  < 0.05). Bilateral MCABF in 35 adults were similar (left, 168 ± 72 mL/min; right, 180 ± 69 mL/min; p  > 0.05). Results suggest that blood velocity by TCD and lumen diameter by MRA can be combined to estimate absolute values of MCABF.