Determination of arterial input function using fuzzy clustering for quantification of cerebral blood flow with dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging

Citation
K. Murase et al., Determination of arterial input function using fuzzy clustering for quantification of cerebral blood flow with dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MR imaging, J MAGN R I, 13(5), 2001, pp. 797-806
Citations number
18
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology ,Nuclear Medicine & Imaging
Journal title
JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
ISSN journal
1053-1807 → ACNP
Volume
13
Issue
5
Year of publication
2001
Pages
797 - 806
Database
ISI
SICI code
1053-1807(200105)13:5<797:DOAIFU>2.0.ZU;2-2
Abstract
An accurate determination of the arterial input function (AIF) Is necessary for quantification of cerebral blood flow (CBF) using dynamic susceptibili ty contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. In this study, we develope d a method for obtaining the AIF automatically using fuzzy c-means (FCM) cl ustering. The validity of this approach was investigated with computer simu lations. We found that this method can automatically extract the AIF, even under very noisy conditions, e.g., when the signal-to-noise ratio is 2. The simulation results also Indicated that when using a manual drawing of a re gion of interest (ROI) (manual ROI method), the contamination of surroundin g pixels (background) into ROI caused considerable overestimation of CBF. W e applied this method to six subjects and compared it with the manual ROI m ethod. The CBF values, calculated using the AIF obtained using the manual R OI method [CBF(manual)], were significantly higher than those obtained with FCM clustering [CBF(fuzzy)]. This may have been due to the contamination o f non-arterial pixels into the manually drawn ROI, as suggested by simulati on results. The ratio of CBF(manual) to CBF(fuzzy) ranged from 0.99-1.83 [1 .31 +/- 0.26 (mean +/- SD)]. In conclusion, our FCM clustering method appea rs promising for determination of AIF because it allows automatic, rapid an d accurate extraction of arterial pixels. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.