Cardiac-induced brain tissue volumetric strain (an important metric reflecting microvascular blood volume pulsation) exhibits large inter-subject variability. We measured the intra-subject repeatability of brain tissue volumetric strain over the cardiac cycle in healthy subjects at 7T using a high resolution retrospectively-gated DENSE and found that the strain curve shape and peak value were very consistent between measurements. Furthermore, we validated the peak brain tissue volume change against measured spinal CSF stroke volume at C2-C3, and observed a strong correlation. The consistent findings strengthens the potential of volumetric strain as biomarker for microvascular function in the ageing brain.
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