Perfusion MRI in the kidneys: Arterial spin labeling

Renal perfusion provides the driving force for glomerular filtration and, thus, perfusion influences glomerular filtration rate, the most clinically used measure of kidney function. Therefore monitoring renal blood flow (RBF) changes in diseased kidneys can significantly contribute to understanding renal pathophysiology. Renal perfusion can be measured noninvasively using arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI. Application of this technique in the kidney is described in this chapter. First, technical recommendations for the implementation of ASL in human kidney (native and transplanted) and in animals are provided, together with data analysis steps required to obtain quantitative RBF measurements. Subsequently, ASL applications in kidney disease are described, both in human subjects and animal models and finally, remaining technical challenges and potential solutions are discussed.