A versatile flow phantom for intravoxel incoherent motion MRI.
| Publication Type | Academic Article |
| Authors | Cho G, Kim S, Jensen J, Storey P, Sodickson D, Sigmund E |
| Journal | Magn Reson Med |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pagination | 1710-20 |
| Date Published | 11/23/2011 |
| ISSN | 1522-2594 |
| Keywords | Magnetic Resonance Angiography, Rheology |
| Abstract | Although there have been many advancements in cancer research, much is still unknown about the heterogeneous tumor microenvironment. Diffusion-weighted MRI has proven to be a viable and versatile microstructural probe. Diffusion-weighted sequences specifically sensitive to intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) have seen a recent resurgence of interest as they promise to provide a valuable window on the vascular microenvironment. To understand, test, and optimize IVIM-sensitive approaches, a complex flow phantom was constructed to mimic certain characteristics of the tumor microenvironment such as tortuous microvasculature, heterogeneous vascular permeability, and interstitial fluid pressure buildup. Results using this phantom on a clinical scanner platform confirmed IVIM sensitivity to microscopic flow effects. Biexponential fitting of signal decay curves enabled quantitative extraction of perfusion fraction, IVIM-related pseudodiffusivity, and tissue diffusivity. Parametric maps were also generated, illustrating the potential utility of IVIM-sensitive imaging in clinical settings. The flow phantom proved to be an effective test-bed for validating and optimizing the IVIM-MRI technique to provide surrogate markers for microvascular properties. |
| DOI | 10.1002/mrm.23193 |
| PubMed ID | 22114007 |