Repeatability of cerebral arteriovenous pulse wave propagation in flow-related enhancement MRI.
N, K., F, K., AL, K., VD, V.C., JW, E., F, W., & J, G. (2026). Repeatability of cerebral arteriovenous pulse wave propagation in flow-related enhancement MRI.. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-57844-0
N K, F K, AL K, VD VC, JW E, F W, et al. Repeatability of cerebral arteriovenous pulse wave propagation in flow-related enhancement MRI.. Scientific reports. 2026; doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-57844-0
N K, F K, AL K, et al. Repeatability of cerebral arteriovenous pulse wave propagation in flow-related enhancement MRI.[J]. Scientific reports. 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-57844-0.
@article{n2026,
author = {Kornemann N and Klimeš F and Kern AL and Vo Chieu VD and Eckstein JW and Wacker F and Glandorf J},
title = {Repeatability of cerebral arteriovenous pulse wave propagation in flow-related enhancement MRI.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-57844-0},
note = {PMID: 42426054},
}
TY - JOUR AU - Kornemann N AU - Klimeš F AU - Kern AL AU - Vo Chieu VD AU - Eckstein JW AU - Wacker F AU - Glandorf J TI - Repeatability of cerebral arteriovenous pulse wave propagation in flow-related enhancement MRI. T2 - Scientific reports PY - 2026 DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-57844-0 AN - PMID:42426054 ER -
Flow Related Enhancement (FREE) MRI is a non-contrast technique for temporally resolved cerebral pulse-wave analysis. Clinical implementation requires proven repeatability. We aimed to evaluate the intra- and inter-scan repeatability of FREE-MRI measurements in healthy volunteers. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were scanned on a 3T MRI using a balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) sequence. A test-retest protocol was performed: two scans, a break with repositioning, and two more scans. From the resulting pulse-wave delay maps, the arteriovenous delay (AVD) was computed for the anterior (ACA), middle (MCA), and posterior (PCA) cerebral arteries. Repeatability was assessed using Bland-Altman analysis and Spearman correlation. Mean AVDs were 366 ± 51 ms (ACA), 371 ± 55 ms (MCA), and 376 ± 53 ms (PCA). Intra-scan repeatability was variable; the first session (Run 1 vs. 2) showed no significant differences, whereas the second session (Run 3 vs. 4, post-repositioning) showed significant deviation. However, inter-scan repeatability (comparing pooled pre- vs. post-break acquisitions) showed no significant differences after Bonferroni correction. Bland-Altman analysis confirmed that averaging measurements (Before vs. After) narrowed the limits of agreement compared to single-run comparisons, indicating improved stability. FREE-MRI provides quantitative assessments of cerebral pulse-wave dynamics, though single-acquisition precision is sensitive to physiological state. While intra-scan repeatability was high at rest, immediate post-repositioning scans showed significant variability, highlighting the need for a settling period. Crucially, while averaging measurements across sessions (Before vs. After) helps mitigate this noise, inter-scan reproducibility remains limited and protocol-dependent. Despite these limitations, this study provides a foundational step toward establishing a practical protocol for future clinical and longitudinal applications.