The perfusion of blood affects the estimation of diffusivities, especially fast components such as free water. Here, we acquired human data to demonstrate the applicability of a three-compartment model for the joint estimation of tissue diffusivities, free water, and the perfusion fraction. We evaluated the feasibility of the model by comparing a multiple b-value approach with a shorter, clinically feasible approach. The conclusion is that the two-compartment free-water estimation is affected by both water and blood. The three-compartment model disentangles these effects, useful in distinguishing between changes originating from capillary blood from those originating from the extracellular space.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.