Improved Precision for Measurements of Tumor Vascular Perfusion with Dynamic Contrast Enhanced- Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (DCE-MRF)

Motivation: Conventional Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI methods to measure vascular perfusion are highly variable and rarely used fully in clinical practice. Goal(s): To improve the precision of tumor vascular perfusion measurements with Dynamic Contrast Enhanced - Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (DCE-MRF). Approach: We developed and validated our T1-only MRF DCE-MRF acquisition at 9.4T with phantoms and initial in vivo data of an orthotopic mouse model of 4T1 breast cancer. Results: Phantom DCE-MRF had up to 9.2x reduction in temporal variation compared to conventional DCE-MRI. In vivo results demonstrated sensitivity to gadolinium concentration uptake in the tumor, allowing for voxel-wise assessments of tumor vascular perfusion. Impact: Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI methods to measure tumor vascular perfusion rates are highly variable and thus rarely used in clinical practice. The proposed T1-only DCE-MRF acquisition provides assessments of vascular perfusion with significantly improved precision.