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Abstract #1093

Enhanced Perfusion Measurement Accuracy in DCE-MRI Via Improved Baseline Signal Estimation

Yiqun Xue1, Jiangsheng Yu1, Mark A. Rosen1, Ramesh Rengan2, Hyun Seon Kang1, Sarah Englander1, Rosemarie Mick3, Hee Kwon Song1

1Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; 2Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; 3Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States


In DCE-MRI, perfusion parameters are particularly sensitive to the accuracy of the baseline (pre-contrast) signal of the AIF and tumor. However, the SNR of the pre-contrast signal can be low, since TR is typically much shorter than the T1 of blood and tissue. We describe a method to compensate for errors in the baseline DCE-MRI signal due to low SNR. The method involves utilization of a separate low flip angle image to better estimate the true baseline signal of the dynamic series. We demonstrate that the in vivo repeatability of Ktrans is improved with this technique.