Arterial Spin Labeling Perfusion Studies of the Prostate with an ERC

Xiufeng Li¹, Chaitanya Kalavagunta¹, Michael T. Nelson², Greg J. Metzger¹

The use of an endorectal coil can improve prostate perfusion imaging with arterial spin labeling methods by providing high signal noise ratios, decreased prostate motion, and reduced B0 distortions and/or signal loss. To characterize the noise and evaluate achievable resolutions, prostate perfusion studies were performed at 3T with an endorectal coil. These preliminary results show that high quality perfusion imaging maps can be achieved at 3T with an ERC. Physiological noise was found to be the major source of temporal error, and increased with imaging resolution. With more averages, temporal error can be limited to a relatively low level.