Feasibility of Detecting White Matter Perfusion using Arterial Spin Labeling in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Motivation: Accurate white matter (WM) perfusion quantification is difficult but likely critical for assessing infarct risk in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Goal(s): To evaluate the feasibility of detecting regional WM perfusion using arterial spin labeling (ASL) under conditions of high perfusion and reduced bolus arrival time (BAT) in SCD patients. Approach: A multi-inversion time (TI; range=200-3200 ms), pulsed ASL sequence was applied to quantify perfusion detectability in SCD (n=35) and healthy (n=15) participants. Results: WM perfusion was significantly detected for TI=800-1800 ms in SCD patients. BAT in SCD was more closely related to hematocrit (rho=0.43; p=0.01) than was WM perfusion (rho=-0.13; p=0.47). Impact: We provide evidence in support of perfusion detection with ASL in SCD patients, which is attributable to higher perfusion and reduced BAT.