Departmental Oral Examination (Thesis Title: "Measurement of the Arterial Input Function from Radial MR Projections")

The accuracy of Pharmacokinetic model fit parameters is highly sensitive to the quality of the contrast-time curves acquired in the tissue of interest and within a blood vessel feeding the tissue.  The later curve is commonly referred to as the arterial input function (AIF).  It is difficult to measure the AIF in pre-clinical studies in mice due to their small body size and limited number of vessels of a sufficient size.  As a result, several groups will use a population averaged curve from the literature.  This curve does not account for inter or intra individual differences, and impacts the accuracy of the fit parameters.

We propose a new projection-based measurement that measures the AIF from a single trajectory in k-space and having a temporal resolution equal to the repetition time (TR).  This AIF is measured in the mouse tail due to the simpler geometry void of highly enhancing organs nearby.  The projection-based AIF is advantageous as it allows for the acquisition of DCE data, in the tissue of interest, between measurements without affecting the temporal resolution of either data set.  We set up a dual coil experiment platform that acquires AIF data at the mouse tail and DCE data at the tumour.  The dual coil approach allows us to maximize the quality of the data at both locations, while achieving the desired high temporal resolution.