Abstract #2035

Effects of Contrast Agent Accumulation on Background Correction of Phase-Based Arterial Input Functions

Anders Garpebring¹, Ronnie Wirestam², Mikael Karlsson¹

¹Radiation Sciences, Ume University, Ume, Sweden; ²Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Phase sensitive MRI has shown great potential for quantification of the Arterial Input Function (AIF). Phase based AIFs are sensitive to motion and B₀ drift, and a background phase curve is thus normally subtracted from the AIF phase. However, this procedure can be complicated by accumulation of contrast agent (CA) in the background tissue region. The purpose of this study was to assess the importance of CA in the background ROI and to develop a method to compensate for this effect. The results showed that CA in the background was a significant problem and that the developed compensation was beneficial.