Rule Out (R/O) Vasculitis

When imaging patients for vasculitis, the goals are: (1) to determine if there is evidence of acute or subacute cerebral injury and (2) to assess the contour of the major intracranial arteries. An additional but still experimental goal is (3) to determine if there are areas of altered perfusion that suggest active small vessel disease. Standard MR images and diffusion-weighted imaging are used to detect and determine the age of parenchymal lesions. The 3-D TOF MRA helps evaluate the large and medium vessels. Perfusion-weighted imaging may detect regions of altered relative blood flow and blood volume. This unit contains a basic protocol for the evaluation of stable patients as well as an alternative protocol for unstable patients.