Human leptomeningeal and cortical vascular anatomy of the cerebral cortex at 8 tesla

Purpose: The purpose of this work waste describe the human leptomeningeal a nd cortical vascular anatomy as seen at high resolution on an 8 T UHFMRI sy stem. Method: With a 1024 x 1024 matrix, axial gradient echo images of the cerebr al cortex were acquired on a human volunteer at 8 T with TR 50 ms, TE 16 ms , flip angle 22.5 degrees, bandwidth 53 kHz, and slice thickness 2.84 mm. T he same subject was evaluated at 1.5 T using similar parameters. The images were then reviewed in detail and compared with known cortical and leptomen ingeal vascular anatomy. Results: Two hundred forty micron in-plane resolution images of the human b rain were acquired at 8 T without evident artifact from susceptibility dist ortions, RF penetration, or dielectric resonances. The CSF, gray matter, an d white matter structures were well discerned. The microscopic leptomeninge al vascular anatomy was well visualized, and the course of small perforatin g cortical vessels could be followed from the cortical surface to the white matter junction. Conclusion: Initial 8 T images of the brain demonstrate detailed leptomenin geal and cortical vascular anatomy.