Three-dimensional whole -brain mapping of cerebral blood volume and venous cerebral blood volume using Fourier transform based velocity -selective pulse trains

Purpose: To develop 3D MR1 methods for cerebral blood volume (CBV) and venous cerebral blood volume (vCBV) estimation with whole -brain coverage using Fourier transform based velocity -selective (FT -VS) pulse trains. Methods: For CBV measurement, FT -VS saturation pulse trains were used to suppress static tissue, whereas CSF contamination was corrected voxel-by-voxel using a multi -readout acquisition and a fast CSF T2 scan. The vCBV mapping was achieved by inserting an arterial -nulling module that included a FT -VS inversion pulse train. Using these methods, CBV and vCBV maps were obtained on 6 healthy volunteers at 3 T. Results: The mean CBV and vCBV values in gray matter and white matter in different areas of the brain showed high correlation (r = 0.95 and P <.0001). The averaged CBV and vCBV values of the whole brain were 5.4 0.6 mL/100 g and 2.5 0.3 mL/100 g in gray matter, and 2.6 0.5 mL/100 g and 1.5 0.2 mL/100 g in white matter, respectively, comparable to the literature. Conclusion: The feasibility of FT-VS -based CBV and vCBV estimation was demonstrated for 3D acquisition with large spatial coverage.

Automated summary

In this study, 3D MR1 methods were developed for cerebral blood volume (CBV) and venous cerebral blood volume (vCBV) estimation with whole-brain coverage using Fourier transform based velocity-selective (FT-VS) pulse trains. Results showed high correlation of CBV and vCBV values in gray and white matter in different brain regions among healthy volunteers. The feasibility of FT-VS-based CBV and vCBV estimation for 3D acquisition with large spatial coverage was demonstrated.