Comparative evaluation of dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI techniques for brain imaging at 3T and 5T magnetic field strengths

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Purpose: To evaluate the advantages of 5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) analysis for brain imaging and explore whether standardized perfusion parameters show similar distributions between 3T and 5T cohorts. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 52 adults undergoing 3T/5T MRI (July 2022-February 2025) with T1-weighted and DSC-MRI sequences. Perfusion parameters [cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and mean transit time (MTT)] and gray matter-to-white matter (GM/WM) ratios were quantified using MItalytics software. Signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast ratios (CR) were compared, with Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results: < 0.001), while 5T exhibited superior CR. For DSC-MRI, 5T achieved SNR comparable to 3T despite shorter repetition time (TR) and echo time (TE). No significant differences in perfusion parameters (CBV, CBF, MTT) were observed between field strengths. GM/WM ratios showed strong concordance: CBV ratios were 2.060 ± 0.223 (3T) vs. 2.062 ± 0.176 (5T), and CBF ratios were 1.985 ± 0.236 (3T) vs. 1.996 ± 0.173 (5T). Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis, 5T MRI showed higher T1-weighted contrast and similar DSC-MRI SNR relative to 3T under the tested protocols. DSC perfusion parameters, quantified using the MItalytics platform, showed no statistically significant between-cohort differences.