[Quantitative Assessment for Brain Lesion by Perfusion and Metabolic Imaging]

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Conventional neuroimaging (CT, MRI) provides structural detail but lacks functional and metabolic insights.
• Integrating morphological and qualitative imaging is vital for optimizing diagnosis, treatment selection, and response evaluation.
• Overuse of imaging can increase costs and complexity without guaranteed clinical benefit, stressing the need for judicious modality selection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review perfusion and metabolic imaging modalities for brain disease assessment.
• To highlight clinical applications of qualitative imaging in neurodiagnostics.
• To emphasize the importance of appropriate modality selection for patient care.

Main Methods:

• Review of MRI-based arterial spin labeling techniques.
• Summary of nuclear medicine imaging techniques.
• Discussion of qualitative imaging's role alongside morphological imaging.

Main Results:

• Perfusion and metabolic imaging evaluate cerebral blood flow, oxygen metabolism, and tumor characteristics.
• Clinical applications include tumor differentiation, glioma grading, functional mapping, recurrence detection, stroke assessment, and epilepsy localization.
• Qualitative imaging complements morphological data, aiding in complex neurodiagnostic decisions.

Conclusions:

• Functional and metabolic imaging are crucial complements to morphological neuroimaging.
• Appropriate selection and interpretation of these advanced techniques are essential for improving patient outcomes in neurodiagnostics.
• This review underscores the value of qualitative imaging in modern clinical practice for brain diseases.