Comparison of 7 T and 3 T vessel wall MRI for the evaluation of intracranial aneurysm wall

Objectives To compare the visibility of intracranial aneurysm wall and thickness quantification between 7 and 3 T vessel wall imaging and evaluate the association between aneurysm size and wall thickness. Methods Twenty-nine patients with 29 unruptured intracranial aneurysms were prospectively recruited for 3D T1-weighted vessel wall MRI at both 3 T and 7 T with 0.53 mm (3 T) and 0.4 mm (7 T) isotropic resolution, respectively. Two neuroradiologists independently evaluated wall visibility (0–5 Likert scale), quantified the apparent wall thickness (AWT) using a semi-automated full-width-half-maximum method, calculated wall sharpness, and measured the wall-to-lumen contrast ratio (CR wall/lumen ). Results Twenty-four patients with 24 aneurysms were included in this study. 7 T achieved significantly better aneurysm wall visibility than 3 T (3.6 ± 1.1 vs 2.7 ± 0.8, p = 0.003). AWT measured on 3 T and 7 T had a good correlation (averaged r = 0.63 ± 0.19). However, AWT on 3 T was 15% thicker than that on 7 T (0.52 ± 0.07 mm vs 0.45 ± 0.05 mm, p < 0.001). Wall sharpness on 7 T was 57% higher than that on 3 T (1.95 ± 0.32 mm −1 vs 1.24 ± 0.15 mm −1 , p < 0.001). CR wall/lumen on 3 T and 7 T was comparable ( p = 0.424). AWT on 7 T was positively correlated with aneurysm size (saccular: r = 0.58, q = 0.046; fusiform: r = 0.67, q = 0.049). Conclusions 7 T provides better visualization of intracranial aneurysm wall with higher sharpness than 3 T. 3 T overestimates the wall thickness relative to 7 T. Aneurysm wall thickness is positively correlated with aneurysm size. 7 T MRI is a promising tool to evaluate aneurysm wall in vivo. Key Points • 7 T provides better visualization of intracranial aneurysm wall with higher sharpness than 3 T . • 3 T overestimates the wall thickness comparing with 7 T . • Aneurysm wall thickness is positively correlated with aneurysm size .