Abstract
Adiabatic fast passage (AFP) is used in noninvasive quantitative perfusion experiments to invert (or label) arterial spins. Continuous arterial spin labeling (CASL) experiments conducted in vivo often assume the inversion efficiency based on the labeling field and steady flow conditions, without direct verification. In practice, the labeling field used in CASL is often amplitude‐ and duty cycle‐limited due to hardware or specific absorption rate constraints. In this study, the effects of the labeling field amplitude and duty cycle, and flow dynamics on the inversion efficiency of AFP were examined under steady flow conditions in a saline flow phantom. The experimental results were in general agreement with models based on Zhernovoi's theory except at high labeling field amplitudes, when the spin inversion times are at least half of the duration of the labeling pulse. The nonlinear relation observed between the inversion efficiency and the labeling duty cycle implies that the practice of linear derating the inversion efficiency with the labeling duty cycle may be prone to significant error. A secondary finding was that the T~1~ of the flowing fluid could be calculated based on the flow dynamics after varying the flow rate. Magn Reson Med 47:709–719, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.