Jon Thacker1, Jeff Zhang2, Tammy Franklin3, and Pottumarthi Prasad3
1Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States, 2University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, 3NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States
Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) MRI measurements
generally use the transverse relaxation rate, R2*, as an indirect measure of
oxygenation. While it has been shown to be related to tissue PO2, and sensitive
to changes in oxygenation induced by pharmaceutical maneuvers, R2* is sensitive
to other physiological parameters (e.g. hydration, hematocrit, blood perfusion)
and hence not a great measure of the physiologically parameters of interest. In
this study, we apply a quantitative model to BOLD MRI measurements in rodent
kidneys and derive regional values for hemoglobin saturation and blood PO2. The
MRI derived blood PO2 measurements are in agreement with literature.
