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Quantitative cerebral perfusion using dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI: evaluation of reproducibility and age- and
Wanyong Shin1, Sandra Horowitz, Ann Ragin
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
|October 31, 2007
Summary
A new automatic method significantly improves the reproducibility of quantitative cerebral blood flow (qCBF) measurements. This technique reveals age and gender variations in cerebral perfusion, essential for understanding brain health.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Cerebrovascular Physiology
- Medical Physics
Background:
- Cerebral blood flow (CBF) quantification is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring neurological conditions.
- Conventional manual analysis of CBF data can be time-consuming and prone to variability.
- Developing automated, reproducible methods for CBF measurement is a significant clinical need.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate a novel, automated postprocessing algorithm for quantifying cerebral blood flow (CBF).
- To assess the reproducibility of quantitative CBF (qCBF) measurements using the automated method in healthy controls and patients.
- To investigate age- and gender-related changes in CBF, cerebral blood volume (CBV), and mean transit time (MTT) in a large clinical cohort.
Main Methods:
- A novel approach combining the bookend technique with an automatic postprocessing algorithm was developed for qCBF quantification.
- Reproducibility was assessed in healthy controls (N=8) and patients (N=25) by comparing the automated method to conventional manual analysis using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (COV).
- Age- and gender-dependent variations in qCBF, CBV, and MTT were analyzed in 175 consecutive clinical scans.
Main Results:
- The automated analysis demonstrated superior reproducibility in healthy controls (ICC/COV = 0.90/0.09) compared to manual analysis (ICC/COV = 0.58/0.19).
- Good reproducibility was also achieved in patients (ICC/COV = 0.81/0.14) using the automated method.
- Significant age-related decreases were observed in qCBF (WM: 3.0%/decade, GM: 7.4%/decade), CBV (GM: 3.7%/decade), and increases in MTT (WM: 1.9%/decade, GM: 3.8%/decade).
- Women exhibited higher qCBF and a steeper age-related decline in qCBF compared to men.
Conclusions:
- The automated postprocessing algorithm offers a highly reproducible method for qCBF measurement, outperforming manual analysis.
- The study provides empirical data on normative values and age- and gender-dependent variability of cerebral perfusion parameters.
- These findings highlight the importance of considering individual variations in age and gender for accurate interpretation of cerebral perfusion in clinical practice.
