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Improved correlation to quantitative DCE‐MRI pharmacokinetic parameters using a modified initial area under the uptake curve (mIAUC) approach
Author(s) -
Cheng HaiLing Margaret
Publication year - 2009
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.21916
Subject(s) - pharmacokinetics , area under curve , correlation , nuclear medicine , medicine , mathematics , pharmacology , geometry
Purpose To propose a modified initial area under the uptake curve (mIAUC) dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE)‐MRI approach to achieve better distinction of underlying physiology. Materials and Methods The mIAUC is formulated on common characteristics of tissue contrast uptake curves observed over a wide range of physiological conditions. The new metrics, IAUC Ktrans and IAUC ve , are related to the transfer constant ( K trans ) and interstitial volume ( v e ), respectively. Tissue uptake curves were simulated over a range of physiological values and analyzed using the proposed mIAUC, conventional IAUC, and Tofts' pharmacokinetic model. Results IAUC Ktrans and IAUC ve are highly correlated to the true K trans and v e (ρ = 0.97 and 0.95, respectively), approaching the performance of Tofts' model based on a 1.5‐s sampled arterial input function (AIF) (ρ = 0.98 and 0.98) under noise conditions typical in DCE‐MRI experiments. Lower correlations were obtained with conventional IAUC 60 and IAUC 120 (ρ = 0.82 and 0.61) and Tofts' parameters fitted using a biexponential AIF (ρ = 0.81 and 0.90). Conclusion The proposed mIAUC approach retains advantages associated with nonmodel based methods (robust to noise and model fit failure, obviates need for an AIF) while providing better distinction of underlying physiological parameters. It can be a valuable alternative to pharmacokinetic modelling in the analysis of DCE‐MRI data. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;30:864–872. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.