MR Angiography of the Head/Neck Vascular System in Mice on a Clinical MRI System

Figure 4

Correlation of non-contrast-enhanced and contrast-enhanced MR angiography with ex vivo histology. Both the non-contrast-enhanced (TOF) (A) and contrast-enhanced (GdT) (B) MR angiography, which were acquired on a clinical MRI system, enabled a reliable differentiation of the different artery types (carotid artery, brachiocephalic artery, and aorta). In vivo measurements of the non-contrast-enhanced and contrast-enhanced MR angiography were correlated with measurements on ex vivo histology (Elastica van Gieson stain, reference standard). Area measurements on in vivo contrast-enhanced MR angiograms (GdT) showed a close correlation with ex vivo measurements (R² = 0.92; ) (B), while in vivo measurements slightly and systemically overestimated the size of the vessel area (Figure 4), probably due to the well-known shrinkage of tissues due to the histological preparation. In non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography, area measurements showed a slightly lower correlation (R² = 0.79; ) (A) with ex vivo histology compared to the contrast-enhanced MR angiography.

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