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

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: = 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.