Quantitative BOLD Response of the Renal Medulla to Hyperoxic Challenge at 1.5T & 3.0T

Olivio Donati¹, Daniel Nanz¹, Andreas Serra², Andreas Boss¹

Renal oxygenation may be assessed by Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent imaging (BOLD). The renal medulla is an area of constant hypoxia, and, therefore, prone to hypoxic injury. We present a technique of BOLD MRI, which measures changes of renal medullary oxygenation caused by oxygen or carbogen breathing. The induced change in tissue T2* relaxation is a measure of the renal medullary hypoxia. The proposed method may be interesting for further clinical studies in patients with kidney diseases.