Optimizing background suppression for dual-module velocity-selective ASL and characterizing the temporal noise

Background suppression (BS) was optimized for dual-module velocity-selective arterials spin labeling (dm-VSASL) using VS inversion (dm-VSI). Compared with the Siemens product pulsed ASL (PASL) and pseudo-continuous ASL (PCASL) labeling, dm-VSI with optimized BS produced significantly higher temporal SNR; and a better suppression of the temporal noise from background tissues was observed with dm-VSI labeling by analyzing the temporal noise level with respect to the BS level. Further investigation is needed to verify and understand these findings to take full advantage of the improved SNR performance of dm-VSASL.