Quantitative ASL muscle perfusion imaging using a FAIR-TrueFISP technique at 3.0 T

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Physiology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Assessing muscle perfusion is crucial for understanding physiological responses to exercise and various medical conditions.
• Existing methods for muscle perfusion imaging may have limitations in terms of patient-friendliness and clinical applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the feasibility of muscle perfusion imaging with diagnostic quality using the FAIR-TrueFISP arterial spin labeling technique.
• To quantitatively assess forearm muscle perfusion before and after intense exercise in healthy volunteers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 3.0 T whole-body MR unit with an eight-channel head coil.
• Employed the FAIR-TrueFISP pulsed arterial spin labeling technique for data acquisition.
• Calculated quantitative perfusion maps pixel-by-pixel using extended Bloch equations.

Main Results:

• Achieved perfusion images with 1 mm in-plane resolution, exhibiting no significant distortions or blurring.
• Recorded perfusion-time curves with a temporal resolution of 6.4 seconds.
• Observed maximum muscle perfusion up to 220 mL/min per 100 g of tissue approximately 2 minutes post-exercise, with clear delineation of active muscles.

Conclusions:

• The FAIR-TrueFISP arterial spin labeling technique is feasible for muscle perfusion imaging with diagnostic quality on a clinical 3.0 T scanner.
• This technique allows for patient-friendly assessment of muscular perfusion, enabling quantitative analysis of exercise-induced blood flow changes.