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Perfusion MRI of the human brain with dynamic susceptibility contrast: Gradient‐echo versus spin‐echo techniques
Author(s) -
Speck Oliver,
Chang Linda,
DeSilva N. Menaka,
Ernst Thomas
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/1522-2586(200009)12:3<381::aid-jmri2>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - spin echo , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance , perfusion , echo (communications protocol) , gradient echo , contrast (vision) , gadolinium , white matter , nuclear medicine , perfusion scanning , medicine , physics , radiology , materials science , computer science , optics , computer network , metallurgy
In this study, spin‐echo and gradient‐echo‐based perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are systematically compared with respect to their application in the human brain. Six healthy subjects were evaluated with both techniques consecutively and injected twice with a gadolinium‐based contrast agent. In accordance with theoretical predictions and with previous animal experiments, the spin‐echo‐based technique shows a markedly reduced appearance of large vessels. The intersubject standard deviations of the two methods are similar but smaller for the spin‐echo technique in small regions adjacent to large vessels. Therefore, the sensitivity of the two acquisition methods for evaluating pathologic abnormalities may be similar despite the higher contrast‐to‐noise ratio of the gradient‐echo‐based technique. The gray‐to‐white matter ratio of the regional cerebral blood flow of the spin‐echo method is closer to previous nuclear medicine measurements than that of the gradient‐echo method. Our measurements indicate that spin‐echo‐based perfusion MRI is more representative of capillary perfusion than gradient‐echo measurements. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2000;12:381–387. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.