A constrained decomposition method for myocardial perfusion quantification using hyperpolarized MRI

As an alternative to Gadolinium, metabolically inert hyperpolarized contrast agents have been used in perfusion studies. For myocardial perfusion measurements, it is challenging to reliably obtain perfusion-related signals due to partial volume effects. We propose a constrained decomposition approach, enforcing prior knowledge of the residue function being temporally decreasing. The method is capable of separating the arterial and perfusion components and the quantified perfusion map is not visibly affected by partial volume effects.