DYNAMIC CONTRAST ENHANCED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

摘要

A method of dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, and of processing the signals from such imaging, in order to improve the characterisation of tissue types being imaged. A calculation of the longitudinal relaxation time T 1 is made for each voxel in the image by applying pulse sequences having different flip angles or TRs and fitting the resulting resonance signals to a model of the imaging process. Dynamic, contrast-enhanced imaging is then conducted and by using the T1 values the results may be fitted to a pharmacokinetic model of the uptake of contrast agent in the tissue being imaged. This gives values for physiological parameters relating to the permeability of the tissue and the extravascular extracellular space volume fraction. These, together with the T 1 value provide an excellent characterisation of the tissue as malignant or benign. The parameters may be displayed using a vector map or by displaying each of them in a different colour, allowing a quick and meaningful of the image to be made.