Characterization and Validation of Compressed Sensing for Time-of-Flight MRI Angiography of the Human Brain at 3T and 7T

Authors

Radman, G., Zhong, X. Z., Kulkarni, M., Perosa, V., Matthews, J. J. L., Callaghan, M. F., Duzel, E., Hammerer, D., Femminella, G. D., Chen, J. J., Olsen, R.

Abstract

Background: Cerebral vasculature is a key biomarker of brain health, and time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) provides noninvasive assessment of vascular anatomy. However, conventional TOF-MRA requires long scan times, increasing patient burden and susceptibility to motion artifacts. Compressed sensing (CS) offers a feasible acceleration strategy. Purpose: To quantitatively evaluate CS acceleration in TOF-MRA at 3T and 7T using automated whole-FOV vascular segmentation and semi-automatic segmentation of representative vessels. Study type: Prospective. Population: 23 healthy human participants (3T) and 8 healthy human participants (7T). Field Strength/Sequence: CS TOF-MRA (CS factors 4 and 8 at 3T; 8 at 7T) was compared against non-accelerated (CS0) TOF-MRA. Assessment: Visual comparison and vascular segmentation were performed using automated whole-FOV methods and semi-automatic segmentation of the posterior cerebral artery and anterior choroidal artery. Statistical Tests: Contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), voxel count, and vessel diameter were assessed using two-tailed paired t-tests.Results: Whole-FOV CNR differed significantly across CS factors at 3T (CS0 > CS4: p < 0.001, d = 0.77; CS0 < CS8: p = 0.008, d = 0.36; CS4 < CS8: p < 0.001, d = 1.11) and 7T (CS0 < CS8: p = 0.002, d = 0.54), with semi-automatic segmentation yielding consistent findings (p < 0.01 for all comparisons). The diameter measurements for segmented vessels are also higher with high CS-factors (PCA 7T: left: p = 0.006, d = 0.93, right: p = 0.045, d = 0.43; AChA 7T: left: p < 0.001, d = 0.66, right: p = 0.009, d = 1.06; PCA 3T: p < 0.001 for all comparison dLeft = 0.52 (CS0 vs. CS4), 0.56 (CS4 vs. CS8), 1.11 (CS0 vs. CS8) and dRight = 0.78 (CS0 vs. CS4), 0.57 (CS4 vs. CS8), 1.17 (CS0 vs. CS8)). Data Conclusion: CS shows promise for enhancing clinical applicability of TOF-MRA, with advantages most pronounced at 7T.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 25 Apr 2026.

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