Abstract #1237

Vessel Density Imaging in Normal Human Brain Using Ferumoxytol

Helen Erica D'Arceuil¹, Alex de Crespigny², Michael E. Moseley³, Francis Blankenberg⁴, Maarten Lansberg⁵

¹Diagnostic Radiology, Stanford, Stanford, CA, United States; ²Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, United States; ³Diagnostic Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; ⁴Pediatric Radiology, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Palo Alto, CA, United States; ⁵Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford Stroke Center, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, CA, United States

We estimated the vessel density parameter Q from changes in R2 and R2* relaxation rates before/after injection of ferumoxytol in 5 healthy subjects. Changes in R2 were highly correlated with changes in R2*. Q in normal gray matter was about 0.58, comparable to that previously reported in rodent brain, using MION contrast agents. This approach using a contrast agent at steady-state permits high resolution imaging of vascular parameters and may prove useful for assessment of angiogenesis, for example during vascular targeted therapy in oncology or regenerative therapy in stroke.