The precision of DCE-MRI using the tissue homogeneity model with continuous formulation of the perfusion parameters

The present trend in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI is to increase the number of estimated perfusion parameters using complex pharmacokinetic models. However, less attention is given to the precision analysis of the parameter estimates. In this paper, the distributed capillary adiabatic tissue homogeneity pharmacokinetic model is extended by the bolus arrival time formulated as a free continuous parameter. With the continuous formulation of all perfusion parameters, it is possible to use standard gradient-based optimization algorithms in the approximation of the tissue concentration time sequences. This new six-parameter model is investigated by comparing Monte-Carlo simulations with theoretically derived covariance matrices. The covariance-matrix approach is extended from the usual analysis of the primary perfusion parameters of the pharmacokinetic model to the analysis of the perfusion parameters derived from the primary ones. The results indicate that the precision of the estimated perfusion parameters can be described by the covariance matrix for signal-to-noise ratio higher than ~ 20 dB. The application of the new analysis model on a real DCE-MRI data set is also presented.     

Using Single-Channel Blind Deconvolution to Choose the Most Realistic Pharmacokinetic Model in Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging

In dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, there has been no consensus in the choice of the pharmacokinetic model. In this paper, a new approach for assessment of the most realistic model for a given tissue is presented. Non-blind and single-channel blind deconvolution algorithms were used in quantitative magnetic resonance dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging of the mouse masseter muscle to compare the realism of two different pharmacokinetic models for the tissue residue function. The first was the adiabatic approximation tissue homogeneity model (aaJW) and the second, the two-compartment exchange model (2CXM). Normals and mice treated with the substance C48/80 were studied. C48/80 increases both blood flow and contrast leakage in muscle substantially. The obtained approximation accuracy was evaluated for both pharmacokinetic models. In addition, the arterial input functions (aifs) estimated using blind deconvolution were compared to the corresponding observed aifs. The hypothesis is that the most realistic model of the tissue residue function leads to the best fits. The non-blind deconvolution did not result in any clear answer. For blind deconvolution, the aifs of the aaJW model were very similar to the corresponding observed aifs, and clearly more so than the aifs of the 2CXM model. Also, the approximation of the observed tracer time sequences was more accurate for the aaJW than the 2CXM model. The realism of different pharmacokinetic models in describing the passage of a tracer through a microvascular bed of a single tissue could be assessed using single-channel blind deconvolution.