Abstract
Purpose
To improve the accuracy of dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and volume (CBV).
Materials and Methods
In eight volunteers, steadyโstate CBV (CBV~SS~) was measured using TrueFISP readout of inversion recovery (IR) before and after injection of a bolus of contrast. A standard DSC (STD) perfusion measurement was performed by echoโplanar imaging (EPI) during passage of the bolus and subsequently used to calculate the CBF (CBF~DSC~) and CBV (CBV~DSC~). The ratio of CBV~SS~ to CBV~DSC~ was used to calibrate measurements of CBV and CBF on a subjectโbyโsubject basis.
Results
Agreement of values of CBV (1.77 ยฑ 0.27 mL/100 g in white matter (WM), 3.65 ยฑ 1.04 mL/100 g in gray matter (GM)), and CBF (23.6 ยฑ 2.4 mL/(100 g min) in WM, 57.3 ยฑ 18.2 mL/(100 g min) in GM) with published goldโstandard values shows improvement after calibration. An Fโtest comparison of the coefficients of variation of the CBV and CBF showed a significant reduction, with calibration, of the variability of CBV in WM (P < 0.001) and GM (P < 0.03), and of CBF in WM (P < 0.0001).
Conclusion
The addition of a CBV~SS~ measurement to an STD measurement of cerebral perfusion improves the accuracy of CBV and CBF measurements. The method may prove useful for assessing patients suffering from acute stroke. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2005;21:512โ519. ยฉ 2005 WileyโLiss, Inc.