The feasibility of using PWI analysis software in assessment of carbogen breathing BOLD-fMRI in normal prostate

Objective To investigate the feasibility of using PWI analysis software in assessment of carbogen breathing BOLDfMRI in normal prostate. Materials and Methods BOLD-fMRI was performed using a 1.5 Tesla superconducting magnetic scanner (Siemens) equipped with a pelvic phased-array multi-coil in 15 healthy volunteers. BOLD (T2*-weighted EPI sequence, 13 slices, 3mm thickness) were acquired during 5 × 2minute episodes alternating between room air and carbogen (95%02/5%CO2) breathing. All data were transferred to Siemens Leonardo Workstation and different regions of interests (ROI) of central zone (CZ) and peripheral zone (PZ) were drawn by a radiologist. All of the data was transferred to GE Advanced Workstation 4.2. The indexes of PWI were calculated by Functool 2 which included signal intensity-time curve (SI-TC), positive enhancement integral (PEI), mean time to enhance (MTE), time to minimum (TTP), maximum slope of decrease (MSD) and maximum slope of increase (MSI). The indexes of and were analyzed with Independent-samples t-test. Results The mean value of PEI, MTE, TTP, MSI and MSD in CZ were 13.89 ± 6.74, 703.32 ± 251.38 ms, 220.05 ± 81.86 ms, 56.53 ± 24.12 and 59.48 ± 23.16 respectively. The mean value of PEI, MTE, TTP, MSI and MSD in PZ were 8.73 ± 5.20, 700.95 ± 252.84 ms, 201.41 ± 88.37ms, 60.09 ± 21.97 and 64.47 ± 25.77. The PEI, TTP and MTE of CZ were higher than those of PZ (P <;; 0.05), while the MSD of CZ were lower than that of PZ (P <;; 0.05). Conclusion The indexes of PWI can be used in assessment of carbogen breathing BOLD in normal prostate.