High-Resolution Quantitative Cerebral Blood Volume Imaging in Humans Using the Blood Pool USPIO Contrast Agent Ferumoxytol

Thomas Christen¹, Deqiang Qiu¹, Wendy Wei Ni¹, Georges Hankov¹, Zungho Zun¹, Michael Moseley¹, Greg Zaharchuk¹

Cerebral blood volume (CBV) maps are usually acquired using Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast imaging which inherently limits the spatial resolution and signal to noise ratio of the images. In the present study, we used ferumoxytol (AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA) an FDA-approved compound to obtain steady-state high-resolution quantitative CBV maps in 5 healthy volunteers. The results show excellent contrast between white and gray matter as well as fine highly-detailed vascular structures. An average blood volume of 4% was found in the brain of all volunteers, consistent with prior literature values.