Michaela Elisabeth Gaens1, Stefan Rozel1,
Matthijs Lipperts1,2, Robert M. Kwee1, Karolien Jaspers1,
Mat J. A. P. Daemen1, Joachim E. Wildberger1, Walter H.
Backes1, Marianne Eline Kooi1
1Department of Radiology,
Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University
Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands; 2Department of ICMT,
Atrium Medical Center, Heerlen, Netherlands
Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI can be used to determine pharmacokinetic parameters of carotid plaques. These parameters are connected with plaque properties such as neovascularization, an indicator for plaque vulnerability. In this study, three known models (Tofts, Extended Tofts, Patlak) were compared with regard to their ability to describe DCE-MRI data acquired for 29 patients with moderate (50-69 %) carotid stenosis. Comparison of overall fit error and uncertainties in estimated parameter values show that the Patlak model is most suited to describe data acquired with the presently used scan protocol.