Perfusion MRI using dynamic-susceptibility contrast MRI: quantification issues in patient studies.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Accurate, noninvasive perfusion measurement with good spatial resolution is crucial for characterizing abnormal tissues in various clinical conditions.
• Dynamic-susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI, also known as bolus-tracking MRI, is a key dynamic MRI technique for assessing perfusion and hemodynamic parameters.
• Understanding the principles and challenges of DSC-MRI is vital for its effective clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the principles of perfusion quantification using DSC-MRI.
• To discuss significant issues impacting DSC-MRI quantification in patient studies.
• To highlight the clinical utility and limitations of DSC-MRI for cerebral hemodynamics.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on DSC-MRI principles and applications.
• Analysis of factors affecting perfusion quantification in clinical settings.
• Discussion of hemodynamic parameter calculation from DSC-MRI data.

Main Results:

• DSC-MRI provides critical information on cerebral hemodynamics.
• The technique offers a high contrast-to-noise ratio and fast acquisition, making it widely used for rapid brain hemodynamic assessment.
• Advances in DSC-MRI have been significant, but users must be aware of limitations.

Conclusions:

• DSC-MRI is a powerful tool for evaluating cerebral hemodynamics.
• Its widespread clinical use is attributed to its speed, information richness, and image quality.
• Awareness of current limitations is essential to prevent misinterpretation and maximize the benefits of perfusion MRI.