David A. Roberts, Rahim R. Rizi, David A. Lipson, Margaret A. Ferrante, Lisa Bearn, Les Rolf, James Baumgardner, Alvin Yamomoto, Hiroto Hatabu, John Hansen-Flaschen, Warren B. Gefter, Mitchell D. Schnall

The continuous arterial spin-labeling (CASL) method of perfusion MRI is used to observe pulmonary perfusion dynamically in an animal model. Specifically, a respiratorytriggered implementation of the CASL method is used with approximate spatial resolution of 0.9 x 1.8 x 5.0 mm (0.008 cc) and 2-minute temporal resolution. Perfusion MRI is performed dynamically during repeated balloon occlusion of a segmental pulmonary artery, as well as during pharmacological stimulation. A total of three Yorkshire pigs were studied. The results demonstrate the ability of the endogenous spin-labeling method to characterize the dynamic changes in pulmonary perfusion that occur during important physiological alterations.

J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 14:175–180, 2001