3D Balanced SSFP Imaging of Arterial Arrival Time and Perfusion in Abdominal Organs Using Arterial Spin Labeling

Philip M. Robson¹, Weiying Dai¹, Ajit Shankaranarayanan², David C. Alsop¹

Most studies using arterial spin labelling (ASL) for perfusion in the abdomen have used 2D acquisitions in a limited number of slices. We evaluated 3D balanced SSFP imaging for volumetric acquisition of abdominal perfusion. Subtraction ASL, with background suppression was used to obtain large field of view perfusion images in the abdomen, identifying perfusion in the renal parenchyma and in the spleen. Dynamic perfusion imaging measured the arrival time of blood to the tissues, employing continuous-labelling ASL that permits variable labelling times, independent of background suppression.