Evaluation of Hydrocephalic Ventricular Alterations in Maltese Dogs Using Low Field MRI

The purpose of this work to evaluate quantitatively ventricular alterations of hydrocephalic Maltese dogs using low-tesla MRI. The height, area, and volume of the ventricles and brain were measured in 40 Maltese (20 normal and 21 hydrocephalic dogs) on MR images (at 0.2T MRI). All of the relative ventricle sizes were defined as the percent size of the ventricle/size of the brain. The ventricle sizes of hydrocephalic dogs were significantly larger than the normal dogs, as were the relative ventriclebrain sizes. Five symptoms were observed in the hydrocephalic group: circling, head tilt, seizure, ataxia, and strabismus. The ventricle/brain with height (1D) was linear relative to the area (2D) and volume (3D). Its correlations with area and volume were as good as the ventricle/brain height ratio in case of hydrocephalic dog. Therefore, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional quantitative methods may be complementary. We expect that the stage of hydrocephalic symptoms can be classified if statistical significance for ventricular size among symptoms is determined with the analysis of a large number of hydrocephalic cases. Evaluation of Hydrocephalic Ventricular Alterations in Maltese Dogs Using Low Field MRI