Validation of Blood Volume Fraction Quantification with 3D Gradient Echo Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Porcine Skeletal Muscle
Fig 2
Representative LMCA relaxation-rate-change time curves measured a) in the aorta and b) and c) in the medial thigh muscle are shown using black circles.
Fig a) shows the bolus-delay-corrected arterial input function (red solid line) related to the arterial hematocrit Hcta). Fig b) demonstrates the curve fitting result with the ETM and Fig c) the result with the 2CXM (red solid lines) and individual results for the plasma fraction (blue dot-dashed line) and the interstitial contribution (green dotted line). Obviously, the data are much better fitted using the 2CXM. Taking bolus broadening into account, the 2CXM yields a significantly larger area under the curve for the plasma contribution compared to the ETM, where the plasma compartment is merely the AIF scaled down with the plasma volume. As a result of the larger blood plasma fraction, the interstitial contribution using the 2CXM is lower, especially during the CA uptake period.