Cerebral blood flow measurements in infants using look-locker arterial spin labeling

Marta Varela, Esben T. Petersen, Xavier Golay, Joseph V. Hajnal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: To measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) using Look-Locker arterial spin labeling (ASL) in children under 1 year of age and to investigate the advantages of using subject-specific estimates of ASL model parameters in this population. Materials and Methods: Of 12 scanned infants, we successfully acquired CBF maps in 7 (postmenstrual age: 32 to 78 weeks) using a Look-Locker ASL scheme and both adult literature-derived and subject-specific model parameters. ASL global CBF measurements were compared with independent global CBF measurements obtained in the same scanning session using phase-contrast angiography. Results: Measured global CBF values ranged from 24 to 56 mL/100g/min in the scanned infants, increasing significantly with postmenstrual age (ρSpearman = 0.89, P-value = 0.01). Using subject-specific model parameters yielded CBF estimates in significantly better agreement with phase-contrast angiography values (P-value: 0.80) than when standard adult parameters were used (P-value: 0.04). Conclusion: Look-Locker ASL can be used to measure CBF in infants and its accuracy is improved with the use of infant-specific auxiliary parameters, particularly blood and tissue T1, which were much more variable in the imaged infants in than adults.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1591-1600
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Volume41
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2015

Keywords

  • Cerebral perfusion measurements
  • blood flow quantification
  • magnetic resonance imaging
  • neonatal imaging
  • pediatric neurology and hemodynamics
  • phase contrast angiography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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