Correlation of DWI and DCE MRI Markers for the Study of Perfusion of the Lower Limb in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease

The aim of the present work is to correlate perfusion information obtained from semi-quantitative DCE data analysis with quantitative diffusion data analysis in patients with peripheral arterial disease. An in-house built software deploying linear and nonlinear least squares algorithms, was used for the quantification of the parameters based on intra-voxel incoherent motion (IVIM) model and exponentially modified Gaussian function. All numerical calculations were implemented in Python 3.5. Derived per-fusion parameters (micro-perfusion fraction f and Wash-In respectively) showed good correlation (>0.5). This constitutes a promising result for obtaining perfusion information from DWI sequences without the need for contrast agent in patients with vascular disease.