Quantitative MRI Measurement of Cerebral Perfusion by Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast

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Assessment of cerebral perfusion is a recognised diagnostic tool in acute stroke, chronic cerebral ischemia attributed to arterial stenosis. Perfusion measurement using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrates a superior potential among other methods concerning its diagnostic value by multiple imaging modalities and missing irradiation exposure. The MRI measurement of perfusion is based on a comparison of the passage of a tracer through brain tissue and its feeding artery. This method was developed at a time when the physics of underlying processes was not fully understood. This manifests itself in poorly reliable quantitative data that hinders diagnostic prognosis, control of therapy, inter- and intra-subject comparisons. We recently proposed a solution to the problem related to the tracer passage through the tissue employing the recent advances in the understanding of the underlying physics. The remaining problem concerning the measurement of the tracer passage through the feeding artery still persists despite strong efforts of the research community to find a solution. With this proposal we aim at solving this problem by redesigning the arterial measurement and the associated data processing. The thereby completed method for quantitative MRI measurements of cerebral perfusion will be verified in vitro and in vivo. The success of this project would enable the quantitative perfusion for the first time.