Contents

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Overview
• Background
  • MRI
    • - Longitudinal Relaxation
    • - Transverse Relaxation
    • - Echo Time
    • - Repetition Time
    • Proton Density
  • Image Acquisition and Reconstruction
    • Fourier Zeugmatography
    • Spin Echo (SE) Sequences
    • Gradient Echo (GE) Sequences
    • Echo Planar Imaging (EPI)
  • Perfusion Imaging
    • Contrast agents
    • Fast Imaging Methods in Perfusion Imaging
  • Currently Accepted Theory for Obtaining Cerebral Perfusion
    • Contrast Concentration and Outflow Experiments to Determine Flow Rate
    • Contrast Concentration due to MR Signal
  • Practical Approaches for Obtaining Cerebral Perfusion
    • Fourier Transform (FT)
    • Matrix Algebraic Approaches
    • Regularisation
    • Singular Value Decomposition
  • The Problems of Delay and Dispersion
  • Implications
  • Summary
  
  
• Clinical Relevance
  • Introduction
  • Vascular Depression
  • Alzheimer's Disease
    • Hypoperfusion in the AD Brain
    • Structural Changes
    • A Vascular Hypothesis
  • Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
    • Clinical Characteristics
    • Neuropathology
    • Genetic Risk
    • Structural Changes
  • Implications
  
  
• A Novel Method for Net Cerebral Blood Flow Calculation
  • Theoretical basis of Net Cerebral Blood Flow estimation
    • Conversion of Data to Contrast Concentration Curves
    • Relative Cerebral Blood Volume (RCBV)
    • Time of Arrival
    • Calculation of Net Mean Transit Time (NMTT)
    • Calculation of Net Cerebral Blood Flow (NCBF)
  • Practical aspects of NCBF estimation
    • Image Acquisition Details
    • Image Analysis
  • Error Modelling of Blood Flow Parameters
    • RCBV Error
    • NMTT Error
    • NCBF Error
  • Results of Flow Parameter Estimation in Young Normals
    • Results
    • NMTT Results
    • log(NCBF) Results
  • Discussion
  
  
• Vascular Territories
  • Introduction
  • Vascular Territories
  • Methods
    • Subject Demographics
    • Sequence Acquisitions and Scan Parameters
    • Determining Total Carotid and Basilar Arterial Flow into the Head
    • Determining Total Head Size
  • Statistical Tests
    • Data Available
    • Comparison of Wellcome and Research into Ageing Normal Groups
    • Normal Group Correlations between Age, Gender, Arterial Flow and Head Size
    • Predicting Normal Group Variation in Regional Vascular Parameters using Age, Gender, Arterial Flow and Head Size
    • Differentiating Disease and Normal Groups using Corrected Regional Vascular Parameters
  • Conclusions
  
  
• Development of a Vascular Territories Classification System
  • Introduction
    • Regional Means and Standard Errors for the Normal Group
  • Detail on the Principle Components Analysis
  • Principle Components Analysis Results
    • Eigenvalues
    • Eigenvectors
  • Probability Reflattening
    • Probability Reflattening Results
  • Conclusions
  
  
• Summary
  • Summary of work
  • Limitations
  • Future Work
  
  
• The Effects of Variable Arterial Input Functions on TTM
• Critical Values for the Test of the Flatness of a Histogram Using the Bhattacharyya Measure.
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Critical B Value Tables
  
  
• Bibliography