Transit time, trailing time, and cerebral blood flow during brain activation: Measurement using multislice, pulsed spin-labeling perfusion imaging

Transit time and trailing time in pulsed spin‐labeling perfusion imaging are likely to be modulated by local blood flow changes, such as those accompanying brain activation. The majority of transit/trailing time is due to the passage of the tagged blood bolus through the arteriole/capillary regions, because of lower blood flow velocity in these regions. Changes of transit/trailing time during activation could affect the quantification of CBF in functional neuroimaging studies, and are therefore important to characterize. In this work, the measurement of transit and trailing times and CBF during sensorimotor activation using multislice perfusion imaging with pulsed arterial spin‐labeling is described. While CBF elevated dramatically (∼︁80.7%) during the sensorimotor activation, sizable reductions of transit time (∼︁0.11 sec) and trailing time (∼︁0.26 sec) were observed. Transit and trailing times were dependent on the distances from the leading and trailing edges of the tagged blood bolus to the location of the imaging slices. The effects of transit/trailing time changes on CBF quantification during brain activation were analyzed by simulation studies. Significant errors can be caused in the estimation of CBF if such changes of transit/trailing time are not taken into account. Magn Reson Med 44:680–685, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.