Xia Li1,2, E. Brian Welch3, A.
Bapsi Chakravarthy4, Ingrid Mayer5, Mark Kelley6,
Ingrid Meszoely7, Julie Means-Powell6, John C. Gore,
28, Thomas E. Yankeelov1,2
1Radiology and Radiological Sciences,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 2Institute of
Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, United States; 3Philips
Healthcare, Nashville, TN, United States; 4Radiation Oncology,
Vanderbilt University; 5Medical Oncology, Vanderbilt University; 6Surgical
Oncology, Vanderbilt University; 7Radiology, Vanderbilt
University; 8Radiology and Radiological Sciences , Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, TN, United States
Quantitative
analysis of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) data requires the
accurate determination of the time rate of change of the concentration of
contrast agent, Cp, in the blood pool; what is typically referred to as the
arterial input function, or AIF. While there have been several methods
suggested for capturing AIF kinetics, many are difficult to apply in the
particular case of breast cancer. Here, we propose a simple and effective
approach to obtain the AIF from breast DCE-MRI data. The method is based on tracking an initial
seed point placed within the axillary artery.
Keywords