Study on the tomographic cerebral blood flow measurement with stable xenon inhalation

This study was conducted to obtain quantitative values of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) by serial CT scanning during non radioactive xenon (Xe) inhalation. The present study provided not only rCBF map but build up rate (k) map and partition coefficient (lambda) map both in normal and pathological brain tissues. The lambda map can not be readily obtained by radioisotope (RI) or positron emission CT method. These maps provided high resolution enough to identify white matter, gray matter and even deep structure of the brain such as caudate nucles, thalums and internal capsule, and were directly compared with CT image. Resolution of each map permited visualization of small area as much as 1-3 mm in diameter. Blood flow for gray matter was 82+-11 and that for white matter was 24+-5 ml/100 g/min in seven normal subjects. The inhalation time of Xe gas and the scanning interval influenced the k, lambda, and rCBF map, respectively. In order to visualize the distribution of white matter on lambda map, it required more than 20 min inhalation of the gas. The scanning interval for good map was every 3 min in the first 9 min and every 5 min in the later period. (author)