Reproducibility of total cerebral blood flow measurements using phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging

Purpose: To evaluate reproducibility of total cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements with phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (pcMRI).

Materials and methods: We repeated total CBF measurements in 15 healthy volunteers with and without cardiac triggering, and with and without repositioning. In eight volunteers measurements were performed at two different occasions. In addition, measurement of flow in a phantom was performed to validate MR measurements.

Results: A difference of 40.4 ml/minute was found between CBF measurements performed with and without triggering (P < 0.05). For repeated triggered measurements, the coefficient of variation (CV) was 7.1%, and for nontriggered measurements 10.3%. For repeated measurements with repositioning, the CV was 7.1% with and 11.2% without triggering. Repeated measurements at different occasions showed a CV of 8.8%. Comparing measured with real flow in the phantom, the triggered differed 4.9% and the nontriggered 8.3%.

Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that pcMRI is a reliable method to measure total CBF in terms of both accuracy and reproducibility.