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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Quantification of Pulmonary Perfusion using Calibrated Arterial Spin Labeling
Published on: May 30, 2011
Optimized analytical segmented method for improved intravoxel incoherent motion parameter extraction in low-perfused
Erick O Buko1,2, Suhail P Parvaze1,2, Casey P Johnson1,2
1Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Purpose:
Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging of tissue perfusion and diffusion has limited signal in low-perfused tissues, which poses a challenge in measuring IVIM parameters. This work proposes an optimized analytical segmented (opAS) method for extracting IVIM parameters and compares its performance with prior segmented (S), oversegmented (OS), and analytical segmented (AS) fitting methods.
Methods:
The four fitting methods were compared using numerical simulations and retrospective analysis of IVIM data of a piglet model of bone marrow ischemia. The simulations compared the accuracy and precision of the four methods for different combinations of IVIM perfusion-related parameters (D*, pseudo-diffusion coefficient; and f, pseudo-diffusion fraction) at a fixed molecular-diffusion coefficient (D). In vivo data from n = 11 piglets were analyzed using the four methods to compare their sensitivities in detecting lack of perfusion in ischemic versus perfused pairs of femoral heads.
Results:
In simulation, opAS had the lowest errors in estimating D, f, D*, and f × D* across all signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels, particularly in challenging parameter combinations of low f and D*. In the piglet model, all four IVIM fitting methods consistently found that D increased and f and f × D* decreased in the ischemic versus perfused femoral heads. However, D* was only consistently decreased in the ischemic versus perfused femoral heads using the AS and opAS methods.
Conclusion:
The opAS method more accurately estimates IVIM parameters than the S, OS, and AS approaches, particularly perfusion-related parameters (D* and f) in low-perfused tissues.
