Abstract #0370

Imaging of the Permeability Dependence of Focused Ultrasound-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Opening at Distinct Pressures & Microbubble Diameters

Fotios Vlachos¹, Yao-Sheng Tung¹, Jameel Feshitan², Mark Borden², Elisa Konofagou^1,3

¹Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA; ²Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA; ³Radiology, Columbia University, New York, USA

This study investigates the permeability dependence of the focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier opening on different acoustic pressures and microbubble diameters. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR images of the sonicated murine hippocampus were acquired and fitted to the generalized Tofts-Kermode kinetic mode. The BBB-opened region volume and the K_trans values in the sonicated area were both found to depend on the acoustic pressure and the bubble size. Thus, the permeability maps may constitute a diagnostic tool for the assessment of the therapeutic agent uptake in the BBB-opened region.