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System identification theory in pharmacokinetic modeling of dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI: Influence of contrast injection
Author(s) -
Aerts H.J.W.L.,
van Riel N.A.W.,
Backes W.H.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.21575
Subject(s) - contrast (vision) , magnetic resonance imaging , pharmacokinetics , dynamic contrast enhanced mri , biomedical engineering , in vivo , dynamic contrast , nuclear magnetic resonance , nuclear medicine , computer science , medicine , radiology , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , artificial intelligence , biology
Optimization of experimental settings of dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE‐MRI), like the contrast administration protocol, is of great importance for reliable quantification of the microcirculatory properties, such as the volume transfer‐constant K trans . Using system identification theory and computer simulations, the confounding effects of volume, rate and multiplicity of a contrast injection on the reliability of K trans estimation was assessed. A new tracer‐distribution model (TDM), based on in vivo data from rectal cancer patients, served to describe the relationship between the contrast agent injection and the blood time‐course. A pharmacokinetic model (PKM) was used to describe the relation between the blood and tumor tissue time‐courses. By means of TDM and PKM in series, the tissue‐transfer function of the PKM was analyzed. As both the TDM and PKM represented low‐frequency‐pass filters, the energy‐density at low frequencies of the blood and tissue time‐courses was larger than at high frequencies. The simulations, based on measurements in humans, predict that the K trans is most reliable with a high injection volume administered in a single injection, where high rates only modestly improve K trans . Magn Reson Med 59:1111–1119, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.