Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of wall shear stress in the common carotid artery of a spontaneously hypertensive rat model at 7T: Location-specific change, regional distribution along the vascular circumference, and reproducibility analysis

Purpose To measure wall shear stress (WSS) in the common carotid arteries (CCA) of a spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model and a normotensive Wistar Kyoto rat (WKY) model by 2D phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI). Materials and methods PC-MRI was performed on 7 SHR and 7 WKY at ages of 4 and 7 months at a 7 T scanner. Images in the middle CCA (CCA mid ) and in the bifurcation of CCA (CCA bifur ) were acquired. The WSS values for differentiating characteristics between two models were calculated. Further, its location-specific change, regional distribution along the CCA circumference, and the reproducibility were evaluated. Results In the 4-month-old rats, SHR showed lower temporal averaged WSS (WSS avg ) and peak systolic WSS (WSS s ) in the CCA bifur in comparison with WKY (WSS avg : 0.95 ± 0.18 vs. 1.30 ± 0.36 N/m 2 ( P s : 1.68 ± 0.70 vs. 3.22 ± 2.49 N/m 2 ( P avg was lower in the CCA bifur than in the CCA mid . The regional distribution of WSS avg along the circumference of CCA showed lower values in WKY, particularly in posterior segments of CCA bifur . The intra-observer, intra-scan and inter-scan reproducibility was acceptable and the disagreements were ranged from − 0.05 to 0.06 N/m 2 . Conclusion This study evaluated WSS in SHR and WKY models by 2D PC-MRI. High reproducibility analyses further indicated the reliability of measurements of WSS in the CCA of SHR and WKY models using PC-MRI at 7 T.