FUNCTIONAL IMAGES OF HEPATIC PERFUSION OBTAINED WITH DYNAMIC CT

A dynamic computed tomographic (CT) technique for separate quantificat ion of arterial and portal components of liver perfusion with function al imaging was developed and used to study 24 livers. A single-locatio n dynamic sequence was performed after intravenous administration of a 50-mL bolus of contrast medium. The time to maximum splenic enhanceme nt was used to differentiate arterial and portal phases, and the maxim al slopes of the liver time-density curve in each phase were used to c alculate both arterial and portal perfusion. The arterial/total perfus ion ratio was also calculated. The values of these parameters for indi vidual pixels were used to create functional images. Arterial perfusio n was increased in patients with metastases and cirrhosis. Portal perf usion was reduced in patients with cirrhosis. Fun tional images were s uccessfully created in all but one case. The technique enables quantif ication and functional mapping of several perfusion parameters with a spatial resolution.