Varsha Jain1,
Michael Langham1, Felix Wehrli1
1University of
The
human brain is extremely sensitive and vulnerable to even small alterations
in oxygen supply, making a measure for assessing global cerebral metabolic
rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) very important. We propose a method for
estimating CMRO2 by simultaneous quantification of oxygen saturation by MR
oximetry and cerebral blood flow by phase-contrast MRI in the major vessels
draining (superior sagittal sinus) and feeding the brain (internal carotid
and vertebral arteries), respectively. Our results demonstrate that the
proposed technique is robust and reproducible, yielding temporally stable
measurements at a temporal resolution 30 seconds.