Absolute quantification of cerebral blood flow in normal volunteers: Correlation between Xe-133 SPECT and dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 913 - 920
• Main Authors: Knutsson, Linda, Börjesson, Siv, Larsson, Elna-Marie, Risberg, Jarl, Gustafson, Lars, Passant, Ulla, Ståhlberg, Freddy, Wirestam, Ronnie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01-10-2007
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - pathology; cerebral blood flow; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Contrast Media - pharmacology; dynamic susceptibility contrast; Female; Humans; magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; perfusion; Regression Analysis; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon - methods; Xe-133 SPECT; Xenon Radioisotopes - pharmacology
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.21093

Purpose
To compare absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF) estimates obtained by dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI (DSC‐MRI) and Xe‐133 SPECT.
Materials and Methods
CBF was measured in 20 healthy volunteers using DSC‐MRI at 3T and Xe‐133 SPECT. DSC‐MRI was accomplished by gradient‐echo EPI and CBF was calculated using a time‐shift‐insensitive deconvolution algorithm and regional arterial input functions (AIFs). To improve the reproducibility of AIF registration the time integral was rescaled by use of a venous output function. In the Xe‐133 SPECT experiment, Xe‐133 gas was inhaled over 8 minutes and CBF was calculated using a biexponential analysis.
Results
The average whole‐brain CBF estimates obtained by DSC‐MRI and Xe‐133 SPECT were 85 ± 23 mL/(min 100 g) and 40 ± 8 mL/(min 100 g), respectively (mean ± SD, n = 20). The linear CBF relationship between the two modalities showed a correlation coefficient of r = 0.76 and was described by the equation CBF(MRI) = 2.4 · CBF(Xe)−7.9 (CBF in units of mL/(min 100 g)).
Conclusion
A reasonable positive linear correlation between MRI‐based and SPECT‐based CBF estimates was observed after AIF time‐integral correction. The use of DSC‐MRI typically results in overestimated absolute perfusion estimates and the present study indicates that this trend is further enhanced by the use of high magnetic field strength (3T). J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007;26:913–920. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.