ASAP (Automatic Software for ASL Processing): A toolbox for processing Arterial Spin Labeling images

Abstract The method of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) has experienced a significant rise in its application to functional imaging, since it is the only technique capable of measuring blood perfusion in a truly non-invasive manner. Currently, there are no commercial packages for processing ASL data and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Magnetic resonance imaging 2016-04, Vol.34 (3), p.334-344
Main Authors: Mato Abad, Virginia, García-Polo, Pablo, O'Daly, Owen, Hernández-Tamames, Juan Antonio, Zelaya, Fernando
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging
Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology
Alzheimer's disease
Arterial Spin Labeling
Automatic processing
Automation
Brain - pathology
Brain Mapping - methods
Cerebral blood flow
Cerebrovascular Circulation
Computer Graphics
Female
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Internet
Male
Normal Distribution
Partial volume effect
Pattern Recognition, Automated - methods
Perfusion
Probability
Radiology
Reproducibility of Results
Software
Spin Labels
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract The method of Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) has experienced a significant rise in its application to functional imaging, since it is the only technique capable of measuring blood perfusion in a truly non-invasive manner. Currently, there are no commercial packages for processing ASL data and there is no recognized standard for normalizing ASL data to a common frame of reference. This work describes a new Automated Software for ASL Processing (ASAP) that can automatically process several ASL datasets. ASAP includes functions for all stages of image pre-processing: quantification, skull-stripping, co-registration, partial volume correction and normalization. To assess the applicability and validity of the toolbox, this work shows its application in the study of hypoperfusion in a sample of healthy subjects at risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. ASAP requires limited user intervention, minimizing the possibility of random and systematic errors, and produces cerebral blood flow maps that are ready for statistical group analysis. The software is easy to operate and results in excellent quality of spatial normalization. The results found in this evaluation study are consistent with previous studies that find decreased perfusion in Alzheimer's patients in similar regions and demonstrate the applicability of ASAP.
ISSN:0730-725X
1873-5894
DOI:10.1016/j.mri.2015.11.002