Quantifying CBF with pulsed ASL: technical and pulse sequence factors.

We summarize here current methods for the quantification of CBF using pulsed arterial spin labeling (ASL) methods. Several technical issues related to CBF quantitation are described briefly, including transit delay, signal from larger arteries, radio frequency (RF) slice profiles, magnetization transfer, tagging efficiency, and tagging geometry. Many pulsed tagging schemes have been devised, which differ in the type of tag or control pulses, and which have various advantages and disadvantages for quantitation. Several other modifications are also available that can be implemented as modules in an ASL pulse sequence, such as varying the wash-in time to estimate the transit delay. Velocity-selective ASL (VS-ASL) uses a new type of pulse labeling in which inflowing arterial spins are tagged based on their velocity rather than their spatial location. In principle, this technique may allow ASL measurement of cerebral blood flow (CBF) that is insensitive to transit delays.