Improving the Robustness of Perfusion Imaging with Arterial Spin Labeling Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Tissue function depends heavily on perfusion, a process which brings the blood supply to the tissue through the arterial system and removes the metabolic by-products via the veins. Abnormalities and disruptions in this process can have profound effects. Cerebral blood flow (CBF), a quantitative perfusion measurement in the brain in units of milliliters of blood per 100 grams of tissue per minute, can be used to understand complex neurophysiology and reveal neuropathology. Cerebral perfusion is conventionally measured with the use of an exogenous contrast agent that is invasive and has limited repeatability. A new class of technique, known as arterial spin labeling (ASL), uses the water molecules in the arterial blood as an endogenous tracer to measure CBF via magnetic resonance imaging. ASL is therefore completely non-invasive and has been widely adapted in both clinical and research environments.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Tan, Huan

• Arterial Spin Labeling

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/30406

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/30406