ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC MAGNETIC-RESONANCE IMAGES

Dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with contrast agents is a very promising technique for studying tissue perfusion in vivo. A temporal series of magnetic resonance images of the same slice are acquired fo llowing the injection of a contrast agent into the blood stream, The i mage intensity depends on the local concentration of the contrast agen t, so that tissue perfusion can be studied by the image series, A new method of analyzing such series is described here. Nonparametric linea r regression is used for modeling the image intensity along the series on a pixel by pixel basis, After modeling, some relevant quantities d escribing the time series are obtained and displayed as images, Due to its flexibility, this approach is preferred to parametric modeling wh en pathology is present since this can induce a wide spread of pattern s for the pixel image intensity along time. Results of the application of the method to series of dynamic magnetic resonance images from isc haemic rat brains after the injection of the susceptibility agent Spro diamide Inj. (Dy-DTPA-BMA) will be shown and compared to results from a related known method.