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Perfusion quantification using voxel‐wise proton density and median signal decay in PREFUL MRI
Author(s) -
Glandorf Julian,
Klimeš Filip,
Behrendt Lea,
Voskrebenzev Andreas,
Kaireit Till F.,
Gutberlet Marcel,
Wacker Frank,
VogelClaussen Jens
Publication year - 2021
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.28787
Subject(s) - nuclear medicine , medicine , perfusion , voxel , cohort , perfusion scanning , radiology , nuclear magnetic resonance , cardiology , physics
Purpose Contrast‐free lung MRI based on Fourier decomposition is an attractive method to monitor various lung diseases. However, the accuracy of the current perfusion quantification is limited. In this study, a new approach for perfusion quantification based on voxel‐wise proton density and median signal decay toward the steady state for Fourier decomposition‐based techniques is proposed called Q Quantified (Q Quant ). Methods Twenty patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 18 patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension received phase‐resolved functional lung‐MRI (PREFUL) and dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE)‐MRI. Nine healthy participants received phase‐resolved functional lung‐MRI only. Median values of Q Quant were compared to a Fourier decomposition perfusion quantification presented by Kjørstad et al (Q Kjørstad ) and validated toward pulmonary blood flow derived by DCE‐MRI (PBF DCE ). Blood fraction maps determined by the new approach were calculated. Regional and global correlation coefficients were calculated, and Bland‐Altman plots were created. Histogram analyses of all cohorts were created. Results The introduced parameter Q Quant showed only 2 mL/min/100 mL mean deviation to PBF DCE in the patient cohort and showed less bias than Q Kjørstad . Significant increases of regional correlation with PBF DCE were achieved (r = 0.3 vs. r = 0.2, P < .01*). The trend of global correlation toward PBF DCE is not uniform, showing higher values for Q Kjørstad in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cohort than for Q Quant and vice versa in the chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension cohort. In contrast to Q Kjørstad , Q Quant perfusion maps indicate a physiologic dorsoventral gradient in supine position similar to PBF DCE with similar value distribution in the histograms. Conclusion We proposed a new approach for perfusion quantification of phase‐resolved functional lung measurements. The developed parameter Q Quant reveals a higher accuracy compared to Q Kjørstad .