Multi-Contrast Quantification of Perfusion Using Joint Magnetic Resonance Contrast-Enhanced and Arterial-Spin-Labeling Approaches

Magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion imaging is used for diagnostics and therapy monitoring mostly in oncology, neurology and cardiology, providing assessment of the perfusion status of a tissue on the capillary level. However, current MR perfusion imaging methods are still not ready for routine clinical use. They still remain mostly on the experimental level. The main methods for MR perfusion imaging are Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced (DCE) MRI, Dynamic Susceptibility-Contrast (DSC) MRI and Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL). So far, they have been treated as competing and were compared among each other to find the best one. In this project, we propose a very different approach that might push MR perfusion imaging towards a reliable reproducible measurement method. We propose a connection of these MR perfusion imaging approaches using a joint approach. We will develop advanced interconnected pharmacokinetic models, compressed-sensing MR acquisition and image reconstruction schemes that utilize the complementary information provided by these three methods.