Assessing pulsatility of cerebral perforating arteries with 3T high-res dual-VENC PC-MRI: Development, validation, and aging evaluation.

Motivation: Characterizing flow dynamics of cerebral perforating arteries provides important insights into small vessel diseases. While Current studies mainly use 7T PC-MRI to study LSA flow dynamics,its clinical use is limited compared to 3T. Goal(s): To develop high-resolution dual-VENC PC-MRI on conventional 3T for LSA pulsatility assessment and study its feasibility, reliability, and potential clinical utility Approach: A retrospectively-gated dual-VENC 2D phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI) sequence was implemented on 3T. Data was collected from both 3T and 7T on young and elderly adults. Results: 3T dual-VENC PC-MRI successfully detected LSA velocity dynamics, with increased pulsatility linked to aging, cognitive decline and decreased executive function. Impact: We developed a reliable 3T technique to assess LSA pulsatility, which could serve as a imaging marker for aging and cerebral vessel disease. Given the widespread use of 3T, this technique shows strong potential for future research and clinical applications.