A contrast-enhanced scan of the brain's arteries and veins with 3D reconstruction. It shows the circle of Willis, the cortical arteries, the veins and the venous sinuses.
- Duration20–30 minutes
- Contrastalways
- Preparationplease call to check
- Report1–2 hours
What it shows
- Aneurysms, including clots within them and their link to the feeding artery
- Arteriovenous malformations and other vascular anomalies
- Atherosclerosis of the cerebral arteries
- Thrombosis of arteries, veins and venous sinuses
- Vessel damage and intracranial bleeding after injury
- Compression or invasion of vessels by brain tumours
- Vascular tumours
When it is recommended
- Head injury with suspected vessel damage
- Suspected aneurysm or malformation
- Signs of impaired cerebral blood flow due to atherosclerosis
- Suspected thrombosis of an artery, vein or venous sinus
- Headache of unknown cause
- Planning brain vessel surgery and follow-up afterwards
- Brain tumours, to assess their relation to the vessels
- When MR angiography is contraindicated or other results are inconclusive
Preparation
- Please call us to check the preparation, including how many hours to fast beforehand.
Good to know
- If the cause of headache is unclear, the scan is often combined with CT angiography of the neck vessels.
General information about CT — safety, contraindications, contrast and what to expect — is on the CT page.