Concurrent Four-Dimensional Dynamic MRA and Perfusion Imaging Using Dual-Module Arterial Spin Labeling MRI With...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology

Background:

• Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is crucial for perfusion imaging and non-contrast enhanced MR angiography (MRA) in cerebrovascular disease diagnosis.
• Current methods often require separate sequences for macrovascular (MRA) and microvascular (perfusion) information, limiting efficiency.
• Concurrent imaging can enhance diagnostic confidence by providing co-registered vascular and perfusion maps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a dual-module ASL technique for simultaneous 4D MRA and cerebral perfusion imaging in a single acquisition.
• To assess the technical feasibility and diagnostic performance of the proposed integrated technique.

Main Methods:

• Integration of pseudo-continuous ASL (pCASL) and pulsed ASL (PASL) modules with 3D stack-of-stars golden-angle radial acquisition.
• Generation of 4D MRA and perfusion contrasts via pair-wise subtractions.
• Application of sparsity-constrained image reconstruction for image generation from radial k-space data.

Main Results:

• Successful acquisition of time-resolved 4D MRA with high spatiotemporal resolution and contrast-enhanced perfusion images from a single scan.
• Demonstrated comparable performance of the dual-module ASL technique to reference methods in vascular delineation, blood flow dynamics, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) quantification.
• No significant difference in gray matter CBF quantification compared to conventional 3D GRASE pCASL (p=0.73).

Conclusions:

• The proposed dual-module ASL technique is feasible for concurrent 4D MRA and perfusion imaging.
• This integrated approach offers a potentially powerful tool for detailed characterization of dynamic cerebrovascular hemodynamics and perfusion.
• Single-scan acquisition enhances diagnostic efficiency and confidence in evaluating cerebrovascular diseases.