Renal Mesh to Perform Regional Perfusion Analysis of The Kidney

Motivation: ASL-measured perfusion values are assumed to change homogeneously across the kidney. We believe that additional information might be retrieved by analyzing regional perfusion differences. Goal(s): Renal perfusion is assumed to decrease with aging but also in renal pathologies. Does renal perfusion decrease uniformly?Approach: Retrieve renal ASL images from 27 subjects. Create one 2D mesh per subject. Pool the results for 3 different groups. Analyze the variation of renal perfusion.Results: Patients compared to younger healthy volunteers (HVs) show lower perfusion. Patients compared to older HVs exhibit a negative variation in the kidney lateral outermost region, while other regions show higher perfusion values.Impact: Understanding kidney blood flow patterns could aid early disease detection and personalized treatments. Identifying specific regions affected in kidney patients might improve targeted therapies. This knowledge may enhance patient outcomes, potentially leading to a better life quality for kidney patients.