Original Paper

Assessment of the Course and Division Patterns of the Middle Cerebral Artery M1 Segment
Transcranial Power Doppler Compared with 3D Time-of-Flight Magnetic Resonance Angiography at 3 T
Fabrice Vuillier^{a, c}, Elisabeth Medeiros^a, Laurent Tatu^{a, c}, Françoise Cattin^b, Jean-François Bonneville^b, Thierry Moulin^a

Departments of
^aNeurology,
^bNeuroradiology and
^cAnatomy, Jean Minjoz CHU, University of Franche-Comté Medical School, Besançon, France

Address of Corresponding Author

Cerebrovasc Dis 2008;26:259-265 (DOI: 10.1159/000147453)

  Key Words

• Middle cerebral artery
• Anatomical patterns
• Magnetic resonance angiography
• Transcranial power Doppler

  Abstract

Background and Purpose: The present study was undertaken to assess the ability of bedside transcranial color-coded sonography (TCCS) to define the course and the patterns of the division of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) M1 segment compared with 3D time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 3 T. Methods: Because MRA is considered as a reliable noninvasive technique to depict the normal anatomy of the intracranial artery, we prospectively defined the course and the patterns of division of 100 MCA M1 segments using bedside TCCS and compared the results with MRA findings. Results: In 68/85 cases (80%), the sonographer was able to define the division of the M1 segment, and classified these as bipode for 50/68 (73.5%), monopode for 16/68 (23.5%) and tripode for 2/68 (3%). A comparison of the TCCS and MRA findings showed a perfect correlation (100%) for the course of the M1 segment. As for the type of division, the correlation was good in 45/68 of cases (67%). TCCS had a sensitivity of 78%, a specificity of 67%, a positive predictive value of 87% and a negative predictive value of 52%, when used to determine whether the division was bipode or not. Conclusions: Our results show that bedside TCCS can now provide anatomical information on the M1 segment of the MCA.

Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Fabrice Vuillier, MD
Department of Anatomy, CHU Jean Minjoz
University of Franche-Comté Medical School
FR–25000 Besançon (France)
Tel. +33 381 66 56 19, Fax +33 381 66 56 76, E-Mail fabrice.vuillier@univ-fcomte.fr

  Article Information

Received: December 3, 2007
Accepted: March 3, 2008
Published online: July 23, 2008
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 3, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 21