Intravoxel incoherent motion MRI in neurological and cerebrovascular diseases

Author(s)

Paschoal, Andre M. ^[1] ; Leoni, Renata F. ^[1] ; dos Santos, Antonio C. ^[2] ; Paiva, Fernando F. ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, FFCLRP, Inbrain Lab, Dept Fis, Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Clin Med, FMRP, Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Fis Sao Carlos, CP 369, BR-13560970 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL; v. 20, p. 705-714, 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 7

Abstract

Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) is a recently rediscovered noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method based on diffusion-weighted imaging. It enables the separation of the intravoxel signal into diffusion due to Brownian motion and perfusion-related contributions and provides important information on microperfusion in the tissue and therefore it is a promising tool for applications in neurological and neurovascular diseases. This review focuses on the basic principles and outputs of IVIM and details it major applications in the brain, such as stroke, tumor, and cerebral small vessel disease. A bi-exponential model that considers two different compartments, namely capillaries, and medium-sized vessels, has been frequently used for the description of the IVIM signal and may be important in those clinical applications cited before. Moreover, the combination of IVIM and arterial spin labeling MRI enables the estimation of water permeability across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), suggesting a potential imaging biomarker for disrupted-BBB diseases. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/23740-0 - Development of an arterial Spin Labeling method for brain perfusion evaluation in patients with delayed arterial transit times
• Grantee: Fernando Fernandes Paiva
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants