VICTR: Venous transit time imaging by changes in T1 relaxation

Abstract Purpose Abnormalities in cerebral veins are a common finding in many neurological diseases, yet there is a scarcity of MRI techniques to assess venous hemodynamic function. The present study aims to develop a noncontrast technique to measure a novel blood flow circulatory measure, venous transit time (VTT), which denotes the time it takes for water to travel from capillary to major veins. Methods The proposed sequence, venous transit time imaging by changes in T 1 relaxation (VICTR), is based on the notion that as water molecules transition from the tissue into the veins, they undergo a change in T 1 relaxation time. The validity of the measured VTT was tested by studying the VTT along the anatomically known flow trajectory of venous vessels as well as using a physiological vasoconstrictive challenge of caffeine ingestion. Finally, we compared the VTT measured with VICTR MRI to a bolus‐tracking method using gadolinium‐based contrast agent. Results VTT was measured to be 3116.3 ± 326.0 ms in the posterior superior sagittal sinus (SSS), which was significantly longer than 2865.0 ± 390.8 ms at the anterior superior sagittal sinus ( p = 0.004). The test–retest assessment showed an interclass correlation coefficient of 0.964. VTT was significantly increased by 513.8 ± 239.3 ms after caffeine ingestion ( p < 0.001). VTT measured with VICTR MRI revealed a strong correlation ( R = 0.84, p = 0.002) with that measured with the contrast‐based approach. VTT was found inversely correlated to cerebral blood flow and venous oxygenation across individuals. Conclusion A noncontrast MRI technique, VICTR MRI, was developed to measure the VTT of the brain.