Cerebral Blood Flow Measurements by Magnetic Resonance Imaging Bolus Tracking: Comparison with [15O]H2O Positron Emission Tomography in Humans

Abstract

In six young, healthy volunteers, a novel method to determine cerebral blood flow (CBF) using magnetic resonance (MR) bolus tracking was compared with [¹⁵O]H₂O positron emission tomography (PET). The method yielded parametric CBF images with tissue contrast in good agreement with parametric PET CBF images. Introducing a common conversion factor, MR CBF values could be converted into absolute flow rates, allowing comparison of CBF values among normal subjects.