Hematocrit and oxygenation dependence of blood super(1)H sub(2)O T sub(1) at 7 tesla

Knowledge of blood super(1)H sub(2)O T sub(1) is critical for perfusion-based quantification experiments such as arterial spin labeling and cerebral blood volume-weighted MRI using vascular space occupancy. The dependence of blood super(1)H sub(2)O T sub(1) on hematocrit fraction (Hct) and oxygen saturation fraction (Y) was determined at 7 T using in vitro bovine blood in a circulating system under physiological conditions. Blood super(1)H sub(2)O R sub(1) values for different conditions could be readily fitted using a two-compartment (erythrocyte and plasma) model, which are described by a monoexponential longitudinal relaxation rate constant dependence. It was found that T sub(1) = 2171 plus or minus 39 ms for Y = 1 (arterial blood) and 2010 plus or minus 41 ms for Y = 0.6 (venous blood), for a typical Hct of 0.42. The blood super(1)H sub(2)O T sub(1) values in the normal physiological range (Hct from 0.35 to 0.45, and Y from 0.6 to 1.0) were determined to range from 1900 to 2300 ms. The influence of oxygen partial pressure (pO sub(2)) and the effect of plasma osmolality for different anticoagulants were also investigated. It is discussed why blood super(1)H sub(2)O T sub(1) values measured in vivo for human blood may be about 10-20% larger than found in vitro for bovine blood at the same field strength. Magn Reson Med, 70:1153-1159, 2013. [copy 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.