Jia Guo1, Richard B. Buxton1, and Eric C. Wong1,2
1Radiology, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States, 2Psychiatry, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
The bolus duration in pulsed
arterial spin labeling (PASL) is typically short, resulting in low SNR. We
propose using multiple inversion pulses to increase the total bolus duration
for improved SNR. In this study, a wedge-shaped inversion was combined with a
regular slab inversion and a QUIPSS II pulse to lengthen the total bolus
duration while keeping the ASL signal quantitative. The preliminary in vivo
results showed an SNR improvement of 54% in gray matter, in good agreement with
theory, compared to a regular PASL scan. The mean GM CBF values were consistent
with PCASL reference scans. This new labeling method should benefit studies
using PASL.
