PerfTool: a software platform for investigating bolus-tracking perfusion imaging quantification strategies

Abstract

Purpose: To develop a software platform, PerfTool (for perfusion tool), for the comprehensive evaluation of bolus-tracking quantitative perfusion imaging methods and algorithms, along with a method to rapidly visualize and evaluate the performance of algorithms.

Materials and methods: Algorithms were evaluated interactively with PerfTool using synthetic DeltaR2* data sets with different perfusion parameter permutations (known as test patterns). Patient data and test patterns were used to evaluate a standard singular value deconvolution (SVD) approach (sSVD) and a reformulated implementation (rSVD) that is insensitive to arterial-tissue delay (ATD), and to explore the effect of the SVD regularization parameter (p(SVD)) on CBF estimates.

Results: The CBF overestimation resulting from sensitivity to ATD in sSVD compared to rSVD was demonstrated with the patient data, and the effect was confirmed using a test pattern. The same test pattern demonstrated the CBF underestimation resulting from high p(SVD) thresholds.

Conclusion: PerfTool is an extensible software tool that allows perfusion measurements to be obtained by different methods, and is flexible enough to incorporate new developments and apply them to real patient data and test patterns.