Quantitative assessment of pulmonary perfusion with dynamic contrast- enhanced MRI

The feasibility of qualitative assessment of pulmonary perfusion using dynamic contrast enhanced MRI with ultra-short TE has recently been demonstrated. In the current study, quantitative analysis was attempted based on the indicator dilution principle using a pig model of pulmonary embolism. The results were compared with the absolute pulmonary perfusion obtained with colored microspheres. The inverse of apparent mean transit time (1/τ(app)), distribution volume (V), and V/τ(app) were correlated well with the absolute lung perfusion. This study demonstrates that MR has the potential to evaluate pulmonary perfusion quantitatively.