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Comparison of contrast agents with high molarity and with weak protein binding in cerebral perfusion imaging at 3 T
Author(s) -
Thilmann Oliver,
Larsson ElnaMarie,
BjörkmanBurtscher Isabella M.,
Ståhlberg Freddy,
Wirestam Ronnie
Publication year - 2005
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/jmri.20420
Subject(s) - gadobutrol , gadolinium , nuclear medicine , perfusion , white matter , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , perfusion scanning , contrast (vision) , dynamic contrast , chemistry , radiology , organic chemistry , artificial intelligence , computer science
Purpose To examine and compare properties of high‐molarity contrast agent gadobutrol (Gadovist) and weakly protein‐binding agent gadobenate‐dimeglumine (MultiHance®) in dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion imaging at 3 T. Materials and Methods Sixteen healthy volunteers underwent three separate examinations with contrast agent doses of 0.1 and 0.2 mmol/kg body weight (bw) gadobutrol and 0.1 mmol/kg bw gadobenate‐dimeglumine. Maps of relative regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and blood flow (rCBF) were calculated using deconvolution based on singular value decomposition. Signal and concentration time curves, the concentration‐to‐noise ratio (SNR c ), and gray matter (GM)‐to‐white matter (WM) rCBV and rCBF contrast and ratios were evaluated in a region of interest (ROI)‐based analysis. Image quality of calculated parametric maps was assessed in direct visual comparison and with respect to suitability for diagnostic purposes. Results The contrast agents displayed very similar results in the 0.1 mmol/kg examinations, both with respect to the quantitative evaluation parameters and in the qualitative assessment of the calculated parametric maps. Maps from 0.2 mmol/kg examinations were rated as being superior in quality, but with respect to diagnostic suitability all contrast agents and doses yielded images of sufficient quality. Conclusion At 3 T, a gadobutrol or gadobenate‐dimeglumine dose of 0.1 mmol/kg is sufficient for DSC magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) perfusion assessment. At the used small injection volumes, the tissue concentration curve was determined only by the gadolinium (Gd) dosage in mmol/kg, and the T2* relaxation effects of the two agents can be considered to be nearly identical in the applied gradient‐echo (GRE) sequence. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.