MR Angiography in the Diagnosis of Cerebral Venous Angiomas : 3 D TO F Versus Phase Contrast

Purpose: To seek adequate sequence of MR angiography (MRA) on developmental venous anomaly in the brain. Material and Methods: We collected ten cases who demonstrated developmental venous anomaly on MR image. Eight patients among them, both 3D timeof-flight (TOF) with or without Gadolinium-DTPA enhancement and phase contrast(PC) were performed: TOF without enhancement in five, TOFwith enhancement in six, and PCwith10cm/sec in five, PCwith 30cm/sec in three, and PCwith 5 cm/secvelocityencoding (VNEC) in two cases. Results: On enhanced 3D TOF, both dilated collecting veins and medullary veins were well depicted in five of six cases, however, the signal intensity of the collecting and medullary veins are less than arteries. Dilated hyperintense collecting veins were well demonstrated on 3D PC with below the 10 cm/sec VNEC in all seven cases, but the medullary veins were poorly defined. Unenhanced 3D TOF MRA could not reveal any dilated collecting and med비lary veins in all five cases. Conclusion: Enhanced 3D TOF could demonstrate the collecting and medullary veins of developmental venous anomaly, however, 3D PC with below the 10 cm/sec VNEC could showthedilated collecting and largerdraining veins . We considered that combined enhanced 3D TOF MRA and PC with VENC 10cm/sec can substitute for conventional angiogram in the diagnosis of developmental venous anomaly.