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Abstract #4428

Automated Calculation of Wall Shear Stress in the Middle Cerebral Arteries of Healthy Volunteers Using PC-VIPR and Spline Interpolation

Warren Chang1, Yijing Wu, Kevin Johnson, Andrew Wentland2, Steven Kecskemeti3, Charles Mistretta1, Patrick Turski1

1Radiology/Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; 2Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison , WI, United States; 3Physics/Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States


Time-average wall shear stress in the M1 segment of the middle cerebral arteries of 10 healthy volunteers was calculated using automated spline interpolation. The velocity measurements were acquired using PC-VIPR, a fast undersampled phase-contrast MRA technique that allows whole-brain imaging in 5 minutes with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. The calculated average WSS for the proximal MCA was 0.20 Pa (S.D. 0.016 Pa) consistent with published values for PC-MRA. This report shows that fast, automated, non-invasive estimation of wall shear stress can be obtained in middle and large-sized intracranial arteries that are prone to the development of atherosclerosis and other cerebrovascular disorders.