MRI Estimation of Global Brain Oxygen Consumption Rate

Varsha Jain¹, Michael Langham², Jeremy Magland², Felix Wehrli²

Measuring the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) can serve as a valuable tool for monitoring severely brain injured patients. We demonstrate MRI-based CMRO2 quantification by measuring blood oxygenation difference between major inflow and outflow vessels with MR susceptometry-based oximetry and average blood inflow rate with gated phase-contrast MRI. MR susceptometry-based oximetry relies on the magnetic susceptibility of the intravascular blood and the surrounding tissue, the latter serving as a calibration free reference. Preliminary results obtained in two healthy human subjects, a 36 year old male and a 23 old female, CMRO2 values of 3.9 and 2.4 mL/100g/min, respectively are consistent with literature.