WE-E-BRA-02: Optimization of Functional MRI Techniques for Assessment of Tumor and Normal Tissue Response to RT

The advantages of physiological and functional MRI for radiation treatment assessment of tumor response and normal tissue damage for adaptive RT as well as for boost target definition are well recognized. However, several limitations of functional MRI have hindered its wide application in radiation therapy, including concerns about optimal pulse sequence parameters, high resolution volumetric acquisition, acquisition speed, motion-sensitivity, reproducibility, and image processing. Many of these shortcomings have been overcome or will be overcome by standardization of image acquisition and quantification. It is also important to understand sensitivity and specificity of these imaging techniques for particular clinical questions. This lecture will provide an overview on these techniques and issues. Examples of applying these techniques to liver and prostate will be given.

1. Understand new MRI technologies that are relevant to radiation treatment assessment; 2. Understand the influence of imaging parameters on image quality and contrast; 3. Understand image processing techniques for derived quantitative parameters; 4. Understand clinical applications and limitations. Author's work is supported in part by NIH P01 CA59827, NCI RO1 CA132834, and RO1 NS064973. 3959.