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Contrast optimization in arterial spin labeling with multiple post-labeling delays for cerebrovascular assessment

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Abstract

Objective

Improving the readout for arterial spin labeling with multiple post-labeling delays (multi-PLD ASL) through a flip angle (FA) sweep towards increasing contrast-to-noise ratio for long PLD images.

Methods

Images were acquired from 20 healthy subjects and 14 patients with severe, asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACAS) in a 3T MRI scanner. Multi-PLD ASL images with conventional and proposed (FA sweep) readouts were acquired. For patients, magnetic resonance angiography was used to validate the multi-PLD ASL results. Perfusion values were calculated for brain regions irrigated by the main cerebral arteries and compared by analysis of variance.

Results

For healthy subjects, better contrast was obtained for long PLDs when using the proposed multi-PLD method compared to the conventional. For both methods, no hemispheric difference of perfusion was observed. For patients, the proposed method facilitated the observation of delayed tissue perfusion, which was not visible for long PLD using the conventional multi-PLD ASL.

Conclusion

We successfully assessed brain perfusion of patients with asymptomatic CAS using multi-PLD ASL with FA sweep. We were able to show subtle individual differences. Moreover, prolonged arterial transit time in patients was observed, although they were considered asymptomatic, suggesting that it may not be an adequate term to characterize them.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Angela Cristina Pregnolato Giampedro for editing the manuscript for language and style. This work was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) (Grant # 2013/23740-0), financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001, and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Grant # 140110/2016-0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inbrain, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    André Monteiro Paschoal & Renata Ferranti Leoni

  2. Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São-Carlense, 400, São Carlos, SP, 13566-590, Brazil

    Bernd Uwe Foerster & Fernando Fernandes Paiva

  3. Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    André Monteiro Paschoal, Antonio Carlos dos Santos & Octávio Marques Pontes-Neto

Authors
  1. André Monteiro Paschoal
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  2. Renata Ferranti Leoni
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  3. Bernd Uwe Foerster
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  4. Antonio Carlos dos Santos
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  5. Octávio Marques Pontes-Neto
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  6. Fernando Fernandes Paiva
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Contributions

AMP contributed to study conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation of data and drafting of the manuscript. RFL contributed to acquisition of data, analysis, and interpretation of data and critical revision. BUF contributed to study conception and design and acquisition of data. ACS contributed to the analysis and interpretation of data. OMPN contributed to the analysis and interpretation of data. FFP contributed to study conception and design, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, and critical revision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fernando Fernandes Paiva.

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Ethical approval

Human in vivo data were acquired in accordance with the guidelines set by the ethics committee of the University os São Paulo and after obtaining written informed consent from the subjects.

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Paschoal, A.M., Leoni, R.F., Foerster, B.U. et al. Contrast optimization in arterial spin labeling with multiple post-labeling delays for cerebrovascular assessment. Magn Reson Mater Phy 34, 119–131 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-020-00883-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-020-00883-z

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