Measurement of regional cerebral blood flow in the dog using ultrafast computed tomography. Experimental validation.

The applicability, feasibility, reproducibility, and accuracy of the method of measuring regional cerebral blood flow using ultrafast computed tomography were evaluated in 25 dogs under varying physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Regional cerebral blood flow values were 75.6 +/- 29.4 ml/100 g/min (mean +/- standard deviation) for the hemisphere, 68.4 +/- 28.2 ml/100 g/min for the basal ganglia, 41.2 +/- 15.0 ml/100 g/min for the internal capsule, and 80.8 +/- 37.2 ml/100 g/min for the neocortex. Measurements made 10 minutes apart were significantly (p less than 0.05) correlated. Simultaneous measurements of regional cerebral blood flow by the microsphere and ultrafast computed tomography methods showed a significant (p less than 0.05) correlation for the hemisphere (r = 0.95), basal ganglia (r = 0.95), and neocortex (r = 0.94) but not for the internal capsule (r = 0.51). Microsphere and ultrafast computed tomography regional cerebral blood flow values were also in agreement in radiation-damaged brain with appreciable blood-brain barrier breakdown, and the two methods demonstrated similar responsiveness of regional cerebral blood flow to alterations in arterial carbon dioxide tension. The accuracy and sensitivity of the ultrafast computed tomography technique suggests that it affords a useful new tool for studying normal and abnormal regional cerebral blood flow.