Systematic Evaluation of Velocity-selective Arterial Spin Labeling Settings for Placental Perfusion Measurement

Overview

Journal Magn Reson Med

Publisher Wiley

Specialty Radiology

Date 2020 Mar 7

PMID 32141655

Citations 14

Authors

Anita A Harteveld

Jana Hutter

Suzanne L Franklin

Laurence H Jackson

Mary Rutherford

Joseph V Hajnal

Matthias J P van Osch

Clemens Bos

Enrico De Vita

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Placental function is key for successful human pregnancies. Perfusion may be a sensitive marker for the in vivo assessment of placental function. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI enables noninvasive measurement of tissue perfusion and it was recently suggested that ASL with velocity-selective (VS) labeling could be advantageous in the placenta. We systematically evaluated essential VS-ASL sequence parameters to determine optimal settings for efficient placental perfusion measurements.

Methods: Eleven pregnant women were scanned at 3T using VS-ASL with 2D multislice echo planar imaging (EPI)-readout. One reference VS-ASL scan was acquired in all subjects; within subgroups the following parameters were systematically varied: cutoff velocity, velocity encoding direction, and inflow time. Visual evaluation and region of interest analyses were performed to compare perfusion signal differences between acquisitions.

Results: In all subjects, a perfusion pattern with clear hyperintense focal regions was observed. Perfusion signal decreased with inflow time and cutoff velocity. Subject-specific dependence on velocity encoding direction was observed. High temporal signal-to-noise ratios with high contrast on the perfusion images between the hyperintense regions and placental tissue were seen at ~1.6 cm/s cutoff velocity and ~1000 ms inflow time. Evaluation of measurements at multiple inflow times revealed differences in blood flow dynamics between placental regions.

Conclusion: Placental perfusion measurements are feasible at 3T using VS-ASL with 2D multislice EPI-readout. A clear dependence of perfusion signal on VS labeling parameters and inflow time was demonstrated. Whereas multiple parameter combinations may advance the interpretation of placental circulation dynamics, this study provides a basis to select an effective set of parameters for the observation of placenta perfusion natural history and its potential pathological changes.

Citing Articles

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Herrera C, Kim M, Do Q, Owen D, Fei B, Twickler D Placenta. 2023; 142:27-35.

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Herrera C, Wang Y, Udayakumar D, Xi Y, Do Q, Lewis M Eur Radiol. 2023; 33(12):9223-9232.

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