Improved quantification of cerebral hemodynamics using individualized time thresholds for assessment of peak enhancement parameters derived from dynamic susceptibility contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

PURPOSE: Assessment of cerebral ischemia often employs dynamic susceptibility contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) with evaluation of various peak enhancement time parameters. All of these parameters use a single time threshold to judge the maximum tolerable peak enhancement delay that is supposed to reliably differentiate sufficient from critical perfusion. As the validity of this single threshold approach still remains unclear, in this study, (1) the definition of a threshold on an individual patient-basis, nevertheless (2) preserving the comparability of the data, was investigated.

METHODS: The histogram of time-to-peak (TTP) values derived from DSC-MRI, the so-called TTP-distribution curve (TDC), was modeled using a double-Gaussian model in 61 patients without severe cerebrovascular disease. Particular model-based zf-scores were used to describe the arterial, parenchymal and venous bolus-transit phase as time intervals Ia,p,v. Their durations (delta Ia,p,v), were then considered as maximum TTP-delays of each phase.

RESULTS: Mean-R2 for the model-fit was 0.967. Based on the generic zf-scores the proposed bolus transit phases could be differentiated. The Ip-interval reliably depicted the parenchymal bolus-transit phase with durations of 3.4 s-10.1 s (median = 4.3s), where an increase with age was noted (∼30 ms/year).

CONCLUSION: Individual threshold-adjustment seems rational since regular bolus-transit durations in brain parenchyma obtained from the TDC overlap considerably with recommended critical TTP-thresholds of 4 s-8 s. The parenchymal transit time derived from the proposed model may be utilized to individually correct TTP-thresholds, thereby potentially improving the detection of critical perfusion.