Prostate Perfusion Imaging Using Velocity-Selective ASL

Xiufeng Li¹, Gregory J. Metzger¹

Previous prostate ASL perfusion imaging exhibited large inter-subject variability in measured perfusion and arterial transit times (ATT) because of the inability of FAIR to accommodate the complicated, subject dependent architecture of vessels feeding the prostate. FAIR is sensitive to ATT differences between normal and diseased conditions and ATT changes, and also adversely prolongs ATT due to the specific characteristics of vascular geometry around the prostate. VS-ASL labels blood flowing above a specified cutoff velocity, possessing the potential to overcome these limitations. For the first time, VS-ASL imaging method has been applied outside of the brain and in the prostate.