High-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging in cerebrovascular diseases

Most intracranial vascular disorders like atherosclerosis, vasculitis, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) share similar lumenographic findings in traditional imaging modalities like computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and digital subtraction angiographic studies. Hence, there is a need for an advanced imaging modality like vessel wall imaging (VWI) to confirm the diagnosis so that appropriate clinical management could be done. Now, currently vessel wall imaging could be done in a high resolution manner with three dimensional (3D) imaging sequences. The aim of this article is to deal with the protocol as well as the current imaging applications of the high resolution VWI.