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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Protocol for Stroke Onset Time Estimation in Permanent Cerebral Ischemia
Published on: September 16, 2017
Study of onset time-shift and injection duration in DCE-MRI: a comparison of a reference region model with the
Ing-Tsung Hsiao1, Yen-Peng Liao, Ho-Ling Liu
1Graduate Institute of Medical Physics and Imaging Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Abstract:
In dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging (DCE-MRI), sampling of the arterial input function (AIF) is required for analysis using the general kinetic model (GKM). Alternatively, the recently proposed reference region model (RRM) may be employed to avoid the need of acquiring the AIF. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the AIF onset-time shift and the injection duration, under various sampling intervals, on physiological parameter estimation in DCE-MRI using the GKM, and to compare the performance between GKM and RRM. Computer simulations were performed to assess the mean error (ME) and coefficient of variation (CoV) of K(trans,TOI) and v(e,TOI) from shifted and dispersed AIF with temporal resolution of 1, 5 and 10 s. With 5-s sampling, the maximal ME of K(trans,TOI) was roughly 22% for the GKM and 0.5% for the RRM. With 10-s sampling, they increased to around 28% and 0.7%, respectively. The maximal MEs of v(e,TOI) for all cases were under 5%. However, owing to the lower SNR in the reference region, the CoV obtained by the RRM were all higher than those by the GKM. The results suggested that with compromised temporal resolution, the RRM was relatively less sensitive to the AIF onset-time shift and the injection duration compared with the GKM.
Insights
The reference region model (RRM) shows less sensitivity to arterial input function (AIF) timing errors in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) compared to the general kinetic model (GKM), especially with lower temporal resolution.
Area of Science:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Quantitative Medical Imaging
- Pharmacokinetic Modeling
Background:
- Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) analysis often requires the arterial input function (AIF).
- The general kinetic model (GKM) relies on accurate AIF sampling.
- The reference region model (RRM) offers an alternative, potentially avoiding direct AIF acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of AIF onset-time shift and injection duration on DCE-MRI parameter estimation using GKM.
- To compare the performance of GKM and RRM under varying sampling intervals and AIF uncertainties.
- To assess the robustness of both models against compromised temporal resolution.
Main Methods:
- Computer simulations were used to model shifted and dispersed AIFs.
- Physiological parameters K(trans,TOI) and v(e,TOI) were estimated using GKM and RRM.
- Simulations were conducted with temporal resolutions of 1, 5, and 10 seconds.
- Mean error (ME) and coefficient of variation (CoV) were calculated to assess parameter accuracy and precision.
Main Results:
- With 5-second sampling, GKM showed a maximal K(trans,TOI) ME of ~22%, while RRM had ~0.5%.
- At 10-second sampling, GKM's K(trans,TOI) ME increased to ~28%, and RRM's to ~0.7%.
- Maximal MEs for v(e,TOI) remained below 5% for both models.
- RRM exhibited higher CoV than GKM due to lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the reference region.
Conclusions:
- RRM is less sensitive to AIF onset-time shifts and injection duration compared to GKM, particularly when temporal resolution is reduced.
- While RRM offers robustness against AIF timing errors, GKM provides better precision (lower CoV) when AIF data is of higher quality.
- The choice between GKM and RRM may depend on the specific DCE-MRI acquisition parameters and the desired balance between robustness and precision.
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