Simultaneous intracranial 4D MRA and perfusion imaging using dual-ASL modules with 3D stack-of-stars golden-angle radial acquisition

Motivation: Comprehensively characterizing cerebrovascular events including dynamic blood flow patterns and downstream perfusion is important in clinical diagnosis of cerebrovascular disorders. Goal(s): To develop a time-efficient ASL technique that provides high-quality time-resolved 4D-MRA and perfusion imaging within a single scan. Approach: A new sequence was designed combining pCASL and PASL preparations with stack-of-stars (SOS) golden-angle radial acquisition. By applying a Hadamard encoding matrix, the label and control pulse modules alternated between pCASL and PASL preparations in each TR. The final 4D-MRA and perfusion maps are decoded with paired subtraction. Results: Both dynamic 4D-MRA and high-quality perfusion maps were successfully obtained from the proposed method. Impact: The developed dual-ASL technique could be a potentially powerful imaging tool in clinical applications, which provides a detailed characterization of flow hemodynamics from both arterial and capillary beds by a single scan.