Systems and methods for assessing blood flow in a target tissue

摘要

A method is provided for determining an analog for blood flow in a target tissue of a subject, comprising: acquiring a baseline set of MR images prior to injection of a contrast agent into the vasculature of the subject; acquiring a set of MR images after injection of a contrast agent into the vasculature of the subject; computing two or more concentration values from the set of images; computing a derivative of the concentration values; computing the maximum value of the derivative curve to provide a value which is an analog for blood flow. An apparatus for determining an analog for blood flow in a target tissue of a subject utilizing a contrast agent, said apparatus comprising: an MRI machine for acquiring a set of MRI images prior to, during, and for a period of time following injection of the contrast agent into the vasculature of the subject; a computer component for computing an enhancement curve from the set of images; a computer component for computing a derivative curve from the enhancement curve; and a computer component for computing the maximum value of the derivative curve to provide a value which is an analog for blood flow.