title: Identification of intratumour low frequency microvascular components via BOLD signal fractal dimension mapping.
abstract: Typical clinical evaluation of the tumour microvascular environment is performed by dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (dceMRI). However, this approach has been defined by numerous mathematical models each with their own physiologic assumptions which often leads to inconclusive results in the assessment of microstructure. Alternatively, Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is already known to be sensitive to the microvascular environment through fluctuation in the oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin ratio. Consequently, quantification of the BOLD signal's temporal complexity using a fractal dimension index allows maps to be generated that are physiologically distinctive in nature and allow potential insight into tumour microvasculature with no a priori assumptions as in dceMRI. Here, using rectal carcinoma as an example, we present this novel approach to tumour microvascular evaluation using fractal dimension parametric mapping.
authors.affiliation: Imaging Research Centre, Brain-Body Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare, 50 Charlton Avenue East, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4A6, Canada.
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wardlaw
authors.forename: Raimond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Noseworthy
mesh_terms: D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000473:pathology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000098:blood supply*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen