Investigating Leptomeningeal Anastomoses' Role in Collateral Blood Flow using SPECT and 4D Flow MRI.
biomechanical · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41718851.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1007/s10439-026-04003-1.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Leptomeningeal anastomoses (LMAs) are vital components of cerebral collateral circulation, but their small size and inter-patient variability hinder direct quantitative assessment in patient-specific cases. This study investigates the functional role of LMAs and their vessel-level interactions with the cerebral vasculature, using patient-specific flow data and accounting for uncertainty in peripheral vessel anatomy. Synthetic vascular trees were generated via a stochastic, anatomically informed sampling process. Assuming that discrepancies between 4D Flow MRI and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) are attributable to LMA-mediated redistribution, LMA configurations were optimized using an island genetic algorithm (IGA) to minimize residuals between simulated distal flows and SPECT-derived perfusion data. The resulting configurations successfully recreated physiologically plausible collateral patterns across four clinical scenarios, encompassing mild to severe, asymmetric, and symptomatic unilateral stenosis.