Time-Resolved Whole-Brain CMRO2 Quantification by MR Susceptometry and Flow Mapping

Background/Purpose: The cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) is a fundamental physiologic parameter that has only recently become amenable to measurement by noninvasive imaging modalities (1). Here, we present an approach based on simultaneous quantification of venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) and total flow, yielding CMRO2 in absolute physiologic units by invoking Fick’s equation (2). We show that the method lends insight into the physiologic response to various stimuli.