title: A distributed parameter model of cerebral blood-tissue exchange with account of capillary transit time distribution.
abstract: Quantitative estimates of physiological parameters associated with cerebral blood flow can be derived from the analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) images, using an appropriate model of the underlying tissue impulse residue function. The theoretical formulation of a distributed parameter model of tissue microcirculation, which accounts for the effects of capillary permeability and transit time distribution, is presented here. This model considers a statistical distribution of capillary-tissue units, each described by a distributed parameter model that accounts for convective transport within the capillary and transcapillary axial diffusion. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to study the confidence of the parameter estimates, and the model was used to analyze DCE CT images of patient study cases with metastatic cerebral tumors. The tumors were found to yield significantly higher estimates than normal tissues for the parameters associated with the extravasation of tracer and for the standard deviation of capillary transit times. The proposed model can be used with DCE imaging to study the microcirculatory characteristics of cerebral tumors.
authors.affiliation: Center for Modeling and Control of Complex Systems, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore. etskoh@ntu.edu.sg
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: L H Dennis
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Cheong
authors.forename: C K Markus
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: C C Tchoyoson
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D002196:Capillaries / Q000502:physiology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008959:Models, Neurological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D010539:Permeability; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed