Mapping cerebral perfusion from time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiographic data

A common method to acquire both perfusion and angiographic information is to have separate MRI scans for each information. In this study, we propose to achieve the goal by deriving perfusion parameters, specifically cerebral blood volume (CBV) and Tmax, from time-resolved contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA). Both CE-MRA and DSC-MRI were performed on seven subjects with a diagnosed ischemic stroke. Concentration functions from CE-MRA were modeled using a modified gamma-variate function to appreciate the full first-pass transition of the tracer bolus. Perfusion parameters were calculated using concentration function derived from each imaging method and were compared to each other both visually and quantitatively by means of correlation studies. CBV and Tmax maps generally showed good agreement between the two methods. This study proved the concept of using time-resolved CE-MRA as both vascular imaging and tissue perfusion mapping while using a single injection of contrast agent, potentially reducing cost and improving patient safety and comfort.