Identification of Basilar Plaque Components Using Multicontrast High-Resolution 3-Tesla MRI

Xin Lou¹, Lin Ma¹, weijian Jiang², Ning Ma², Tingqiang Zhao¹

Multicontrast high-resolution MR imaging (HRMRI) is an effective tool for the assessment of carotid plaque vulnerability, but there has been no report on identification of plaque components of basilar atherosclerosis. We therefore performed this prospective cohort study on 3T multicontrast HRMRI for 24 patients with >70% symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis of basilar artery (BA). Our preliminary results revealed that multicontrast HRMRI (TOF, T1W, PDW, and T2W) can be used to study plaque components of severe basilar atherosclerosis with good interobserver and intraobserver agreements for the identification of LR/NC, IH and calcification.