Dataset Information

Calibration of arterial spin labeling data-potential pitfalls in post-processing.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To assess the impact of the different post-processing options in the calibration of arterial spin labeling (ASL) data on perfusion quantification and its reproducibility.

Theory and methods

Absolute quantification of perfusion measurements is one of the promises of ASL techniques. However, it is highly dependent on a calibration procedure that involves a complex processing pipeline for which no standardized procedure has been fully established. In this work, we systematically compare the main ASL calibration methods as well as various post-processing calibration options, using 2 data sets acquired with the most common sequences, pulsed ASL and pseudo-continuous ASL.

Results

Significant and sometimes large discrepancies in ASL perfusion quantification were obtained when using different post-processing calibration options. Nevertheless, when using a set of theoretically based and carefully chosen options, only small differences were observed for both reference tissue and voxelwise methods. The voxelwise and white matter reference tissue methods were less sensitive to post-processing options than the cerebrospinal fluid reference tissue method. However, white matter reference tissue calibration also produced poorer reproducibility results. Moreover, it may also not be an appropriate reference in case of white matter pathology.

Conclusion

Poor post-processing calibration options can lead to large errors in perfusion quantification, and a complete description of the calibration procedure should therefore be reported in ASL studies. Overall, our results further support the voxelwise calibration method proposed by the ASL white paper, particularly given the advantage of being relatively simple to implement and intrinsically correcting for the coil sensitivity profile.

SUBMITTER: Pinto J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6972489 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Calibration of arterial spin labeling data-potential pitfalls in post-processing.

Pinto Joana J Chappell Michael A MA Okell Thomas W TW Mezue Melvin M Segerdahl Andrew R AR Tracey Irene I Vilela Pedro P Figueiredo Patrícia P

Magnetic resonance in medicine 20191012 4

<h4>Purpose</h4>To assess the impact of the different post-processing options in the calibration of arterial spin labeling (ASL) data on perfusion quantification and its reproducibility.<h4>Theory and methods</h4>Absolute quantification of perfusion measurements is one of the promises of ASL techniques. However, it is highly dependent on a calibration procedure that involves a complex processing pipeline for which no standardized procedure has been fully established. In this work, we systematica ...[more]

PMID: 31605558

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Project description:BackgroundInvestigating the effect of post-labeling delay (PLD) on regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in adults and optimizing the PLD for arterial spin-labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are important.MethodsPseudo-continuous ASL imaging with a three PLDs protocol was performed in 90 healthy adult volunteers from January 2018 to February 2019. Healthy subjects were divided into youth group (mean age, 30.63 years; age range, 20-44 years), middle-aged group (mean age, 52.16 years; age range 45-59 years) and elderly group (mean age, 66.07 years; age range, 60-77 years). After preprocessing, analyses of variance (ANOVA) and volume-of-interest (VOI) were conducted to compare the CBF in each brain region. According to the trends of CBF changing with PLD and the results of ANOVA, we optimized the PLD for ASL imaging in different brain regions and age groups.ResultsThe CBF values of 87 VOIs [global gray matter (global GM) and other 86 VOIs] for each subject were obtained. Young people had less statistically significant VOIs than middle-aged and elderly people [Numbers of VOIs which had statistical significance (P < .05) in the analysis of ANOVA: 42 (youth group), 79 (middle-aged group), and 71 (elderly group)]. In youth group, the deep GM, occipital lobe and temporal lobe were more affected by PLDs than limbic system, frontal lobe and parietal lobe [VOIs with statistical significance (P < .05)/total VOIs: 8/8 (deep GM) > 8/12 (occipital lobe) > (8/14) (temporal lobe) > 5/12 (limbic system) > 11/28 (frontal lobe) > (2/12) parietal lobe]. In middle-aged group, the limbic system, deep GM and temporal lobe were more affected by PLDs than parietal lobe, frontal lobe and occipital lobe [VOIs with statistical significance (P < 0.05)/total VOIs: 12/12 (limbic system) = 8/8 (deep GM) > (13/14) (temporal lobe) > (11/12) parietal lobe > 25/28 (frontal lobe) > 9/12 (occipital lobe)]. In elderly group, the temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and frontal lobe were more affected by PLDs than occipital lobe, limbic system, and deep GM [VOIs with statistical significance (P < .05)/total VOIs: 14/14 (temporal lobe) > 12/12 (parietal lobe) > 22/28 (frontal lobe) > 9/12 (occipital lobe) > 8/12 (limbic system) > 5/8 (deep GM)]. The optimal PLD for most VOIs in youth group was 1525 ms. However, for middle-aged and elderly group, the optimal PLD for most VOIs was 2525 ms.ConclusionYoung people are less affected by PLDs than middle-aged and elderly people. The middle-aged people are most affected by PLDs. In addition, the spatial distributions of PLD effect were different among the three age groups. Optimizing the PLD for ASL imaging according to age and brain regions can obtain more accurate and reliable CBF values.

Project description:BackgroundArterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to be useful for identifying asphyxiated newborns at risk of developing brain injury, whether or not therapeutic hypothermia was administered. However, this technique has been only rarely used in newborns until now, because of the challenges to obtain sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spatial resolution in newborns.ObjectiveTo compare two methods of ASL-PWI (i.e., single inversion-time pulsed arterial spin labeling [single TI PASL], and pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling [pCASL]) to assess brain perfusion in asphyxiated newborns treated with therapeutic hypothermia and in healthy newborns.Design/methodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of term asphyxiated newborns meeting the criteria for therapeutic hypothermia; four additional healthy term newborns were also included as controls. Each of the enrolled newborns was scanned at least once during the first month of life. Each MRI scan included conventional anatomical imaging, as well as PASL and pCASL PWI-MRI. Control and labeled images were registered separately to reduce the effect of motion artifacts. For each scan, the axial slice at the level of the basal ganglia was used for comparisons. Each scan was scored for its image quality. Quantification of whole-slice cerebral blood flow (CBF) was done afterwards using previously described formulas.ResultsA total number of 61 concomitant PASL and pCASL scans were obtained in nineteen asphyxiated newborns treated with therapeutic hypothermia and four healthy newborns. After discarding the scans with very poor image quality, 75% (46/61) remained for comparison between the two ASL methods. pCASL images presented a significantly superior image quality score compared to PASL images (p < 0.0001). Strong correlation was found between the CBF measured by PASL and pCASL (r = 0.61, p < 0.0001).ConclusionThis study demonstrates that both ASL methods are feasible to assess brain perfusion in healthy and sick newborns. However, pCASL might be a better choice over PASL in newborns, as pCASL perfusion maps had a superior image quality that allowed a more detailed identification of the different brain structures.

Dataset Information

Calibration of arterial spin labeling data-potential pitfalls in post-processing.

Purpose

Theory and methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Calibration of arterial spin labeling data-potential pitfalls in post-processing.

Similar Datasets

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