Oxygen Imaging by MRI

Mapping the ischemic penumbra (ie, the neurophysiologically silent but still viable ischemic tissue) is increasingly part of routine assessment in suspected acute stroke, although whether this approach is cost-effective is still unclear.1,2 The penumbra is characterized by both low cerebral blood flow (CBF; <20 mL · 100 g−1 · min−1) and elevated oxygen extraction fraction (OEF).3 The latter is considered a critical marker of tissue viability and is therefore a key imaging target. The penumbra was originally documented in humans using positron emission tomography (PET),2,3 a validated method to map CBF, OEF and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2),4 but clinical access to PET is scarce. Consequently, MR-based diffusion and perfusion imaging (PWI) and CT-based perfusion imaging are widely used as substitutes.1 However, both methods have limitations for penumbra imaging2 and do not directly assess oxygen metabolism.A method combining the advantages of MR and the ability to map OEF would therefore be highly desirable. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) imaging has recently emerged as a possible candidate for this purpose. However, several BOLD techniques with different levels of validation, accuracy, and clinical applicability are in concurrent development, making the situation somewhat confusing. This review aims to clarify whether BOLD imaging might be of use to map oxygen in the clinical setting. We systematically review and critically discuss all studies published to date in English language, both experimental and clinical, that have applied BOLD in acute stroke. Because our focus is tissue oxygen metabolism, we do not address the T2*-weighted method to visualize leptomeningeal vessels,5 the mapping of ΔCMRO2 during physiological challenges,6 or the emerging 17O imaging method.7 Principles of BOLD MRIOxyhemoglobin is diamagnetic, whereas deoxyhemoglobin (DHb) is paramagnetic. Transverse relaxation is sensitive to paramagnetic …