Spatial Coefficient of Variation of Arterial Spin Labeling MRI as a Cerebrovascular Correlate of Carotid Occlusive Disease


Spatial Coefficient of Variation of Arterial Spin Labeling MRI as a Cerebrovascular Correlate of Carotid Occlusive Disease

Mutsaerts, H. J. M. M.; Petr, J.; Bokkers, R. P. H.; Lazar, R. M.; Marshall, R. S.; Asllani, I.

Clinical interpretation of arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI in cerebrovascular disease remains challenging mainly because of the method’s sensitivity to concomitant contributions from both intravascular and tissue compartments. While acquisition of multi-delay ASL images can differentiate between the two contributions, the prolonged acquisition is prone to artifacts and not practical for clinical research. Here, we evaluated the utility of the spatial coefficient of variation (sCoV) of a single-delay ASL image as a marker of the intravascular contribution. We tested the hypothesis that sCoV is more sensitive than CBF to the intravascular signal, and therefore will be a better predictor of the side of occlusion. To this end, we compared the hemispheric lateralization of sCoV and CBF ASL images obtained from 28 patients (age 73.9 ± 10.2 years, 8 women) with asymptomatic unilateral carotid occlusion. The results showed that sCoV lateralization predicted the occluded side with 96.4% sensitivity, missing only 1 patient out of the 28. In contrast, the sensitivity of the CBF lateralization was 71.4% with 8 patients showing no difference in CBF between the ipsi- and contra-lateral hemispheres. The findings demonstrate the potential clinical utility of sCoV as a cerebrovascular correlate of large vessel disease. Using sCoV in tandem with CBF, vascular information can be obtained in image processing without the need for additional scanning time.

Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-29675
Publ.-Id: 29675