Evaluation of systematic quantification errors in velocity-selective arterial spin labeling of the brain

• Published in: Magnetic resonance in medicine 2003-07, Vol.50 (1), p.145-153
• Main Authors: Duhamel, Guillaume, de Bazelaire, Cédric, Alsop, David C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; arterial spin labeling; Biological and medical sciences; blood flow; Blood Flow Velocity - physiology; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - blood supply; Brain - physiology; Cerebral Arteries - anatomy & histology; Cerebral Arteries - physiology; Cerebrospinal Fluid - cytology; Cerebrospinal Fluid - physiology; Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology; Female; Humans; Image Enhancement - methods; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical sciences; perfusion imaging; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spin Labels; stroke
• ISSN: 0740-3194; 1522-2594
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.10510

Velocity‐selective (VS) sequences potentially permit arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging with labeling applied very close to the tissue. In this study the effects of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) motion, radiofrequency (RF) field imperfections, and sequence timing parameters on the appearance and quantitative perfusion values obtained with VS‐ASL were evaluated. Large artifacts related to CSF motion were observed with moderate velocity weighting, which were removed by inversion recovery preparation at the cost of increased imaging time. Imperfect refocusing and excitation pulses resulting from nonuniform RF fields produced systematic errors in the ASL subtraction images. A phase cycling scheme was introduced to eliminate these errors. Quantitative perfusion images were obtained with CSF suppression and phase cycling. Gray matter blood flow of 27.7 ml 100 g–1 min–1, approximately half the value reported in studies using spatially‐selective ASL, was measured. Potential sources for this underestimation are discussed. Magn Reson Med 50:145–153, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.