John Robert Cain1, Gerard Thompson1,
Alan Jackson1, Laura M. Parkes1,2
1Imaging Science, University of
Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; 2Biomedical Imaging
Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Groups
have published reproducibility studies for arterial spin labeling (ASL)
cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements. The relatively large inter-subject
variation in CBF hinders direct comparison between individuals. A single
healthy volunteer underwent MRI imaging on 7 separate occasions consisting of
two STAR ASL acquisitions. Intra-session reproducibility was assessed using
Bland-Altman analysis of grey matter perfusion and arrival time.
Inter-session and intra-session perfusion values coefficient of variation
(COV) were comparable, suggesting errors due to re-positioning and
physiological changes are not significant. The COV of perfusion values are
consistent with published results using multiple individuals and the arrival
time COV is superior.