Volumetric Perfusion Mapping with Continuous Arterial Spin Labelling in Rat Brain

Basil Knnecke¹, Thomas Bielser¹, Markus von Kienlin¹

Continuous arterial spin labelling (CASL) has proven a valuable tool for assessing cerebral perfusion as a proxy for neural activity, but it inherently lacks multi-slice capabilities. Newer variants such as pseudo CASL and sine wave-modulated CASL have been proposed to remedy this deficiency. Here we have implemented and for the first time applied these modalities for 3D volumetric perfusion mapping in rats at 4.7T and 9.4T. Off-centre-labelling and optimisation of labelling conditions especially for the control scan, together with RARE-based data readout, provided high-quality and highsensitivity perfusion maps in only 4 minutes measurement time with nearly distortion-free image geometry.