A quantitative study of magnetic susceptibility-weighted imaging of deep cerebral veins

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the value of magnetic susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) for measuring deep cerebral venous diameter. METHODS:The diameters of 150 deep cerebral veins were measured by SWI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in 50 patients. RESULTS:SWI showed whole cerebral veins as clear soft vessels, but with a crooked hypointense linear structure along the sulcus. Venous vessel diameter as measured by SWI was greater than that by DSA, but values from the two different techniques showed significant linear correlation (r=0.905). CONCLUSION:SWI is reliable and suitable for quantitative measurements of deep cerebral veins, and more sensitive for measuring smaller vessels deep within the brain.