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PurposeIntravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) has been proposed as a means of non-invasive MRI measurement of perfusion parameters such as blood flow and blood volume. Its main competitor in the brain is arterial spin labelling (ASL). In theory, IVIM should not suffer from some of the same limitations as ASL such as poor signal in white matter, and assumptions about arterial arrival times that may be violated in the presence of pathology.MethodsIn this study we aimed to test IVIM as a viable alternative to ASL for quantitative imaging of perfusion parameters in the brain. First, a direct comparison was performed between IVIM and multi-post label delay pseudo-continuous ASL; second, IVIM images were acquired with and without nulling cerebrospinal fluid; and finally, ultra-high resolution IVIM was performed to minimise partial voluming.ResultsIn all three tests, IVIM failed to disprove the null hypothesis, strongly suggesting that, at least within the brain, the technique does not measure perfusion parameters as proposed.ConclusionFurthermore, the results obtained suggest that the contrast visible in IVIM-derived images is primarily sensitive to cerebrospinal fluid, and not the microvascular blood compartment.

Purpose The calculation of the calibration parameter M, which represents the maximum theoretically possible blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal increase, is an essential intermediate step in any calibrated fMRI experiment. To better compare M values obtained across different studies, it is common to scale M values from their original BOLD echo time (TE) to a different echo time according to the theory that M is directly proportional to TE. To the best of our knowledge, this relationship has never been directly tested. Theory and Methods A pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling sequence with five readouts (TE ranging from 20 to 78 ms) was implemented to test the relationship between M and TE, both with and without the application of flow crushing gradients. Results Both M and the BOLD signal were found to be linear functions of TE, but with a nonzero intercept. This intercept was reduced when crusher gradients were added, suggesting that the deviation from theory is a result of nonnegligible intravascular signal. Conclusion The linear scaling method introduces some error when comparing M values acquired with different BOLD echo times. However, this error is small compared with other considerations, and would generally not preclude the continued use of this scaling method. Magn Reson Med 75:556–561, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Measurement of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) can give valuable information about existing pathology and the risk of adverse events, such as stroke. A common method of obtaining regional CVR values is by measuring the blood flow response to carbon dioxide (CO2)-enriched air using arterial spin labeling (ASL) or blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) imaging. Recently, several studies have used carbogen gas (containing only CO2 and oxygen) as an alternative stimulus. A direct comparison was performed between CVR values acquired by ASL and BOLD imaging using stimuli of (1) 5% CO2 in air and (2) 5% CO2 in oxygen (carbogen-5). Although BOLD and ASL CVR values are shown to be correlated for CO2 in air (mean response 0.11 ± 0.03% BOLD, 4.46 ± 1.80% ASL, n = 16 hemispheres), this correlation disappears during a carbogen stimulus (0.36 ± 0.06% BOLD, 4.97 ± 1.30% ASL). It is concluded that BOLD imaging should generally not be used in conjunction with a carbogen stimulus when measuring CVR, and that care must be taken when interpreting CVR as measured by ASL, as values obtained from different stimuli (CO2 in air versus carbogen) are not directly comparable.