How To
Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) FAQs

Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) FAQs


  • How do I acquire baseline whole-brain perfusion maps in humans using ASL on GE 3.0T?

A detailed instruction manual that covers data acquisition, reconstruction and CBF quantification can be downloaded here

Data reconstruction and CBF software (Matlab-based):

SENSErc1.0_14x.tar - SENSE recon code for the upgraded software platforms 14x (3twest since Jan 2007, 3teast since Nov 2007)

                                      SENSErc1.1.tar - SENSE reconstruction code for data acquired before the upgrade

CBFv3.1.tar- CBF quantification (backward compatible with pre-14x software platforms)

If you would like to schedule a training session for baseline whole-brain perfusion using ASL, please contact Kun Lu.

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  • What protocols are available at the Center for measuring whole-brain perfusion in humans?

Protocol name

Brain_perfusion_4S Brain_perfusion_SS

Description

  • FAIR ASL
  • Spiral-out readout
  • 4 interleaves
  • gr recon and optional SENSE recon
  • Scan time (6:40min) + calibration scans (1:00min)

 

  • FAIR ASL
  • Spiral-out readout
  • Single shot
  • gr recon
  • Scan time (4:10min) + calibration scans (1:00min)

 

Pros

  • Reduced drop out in the frontal and medial-temporal lobe regions.
  • Reduced T2* blurring
  • Shorter scans
  • Fast reconstruction (< 5minutes)

Cons

  • Longer scans
  • Slow reconstruction  in Matlab (> 4 hrs ) when using the optional SENSE recon program
  • Increased signal drop out in the frontal/ medial- temporal lobe regions.
  • Increased T2* blurring

 

Recommended use

Recommended for all studies.

The optional SENSE recon is strongly recommended for a more robust performance.

Recommended for motor and visual cortex studies that desire faster scans and data processing.

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  • What are the latest updates on the CBF processing software?
Software version
     Additional functionality
CBFv1.0
    Original release
CBFv2.0    Anatomical can be used for CSF voxel identification
CBFv2.1    Fixed small bug in v2.0
CBFv2.2

   Performs checks, e.g. that ASL and CSF runs acquired with same prescan. Also handles other tagging schemes aside from PASL 

 CBFv2.3     Fixed small bug in v2.2
 CBFv2.4     ASL and CSF scans acquired with different R1 values can be processed; correction is applied. User is warned to check acquisition protocol
 CBFv3.0     (1) Performs motion correction of ASL data. (2) Checks system's software versions. (3) Easier CSF slice selecting when using anatomical. (4) User is asked to check alignment of CSF scan relative to the anatomical (if used)
 CBFv3.1     Compatible with data collected on GE 3T and 1.5T scanners
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Last modified August 4, 2008
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