# Imaging of human brain oxygenation and oxygen metabolism dynamics

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2024 · $239,473

## Abstract

Abstract
The human brain requires continual oxygen delivery to meet its enormous metabolic demand, and suffers
devastating consequences when this oxygen supply is disrupted, as in stroke. While new endovascular
treatments have shown promise to improve cerebrovascular outcomes, they are hampered by the lack
of noninvasive biomarkers to stratify patients who are good candidates for these therapies. In particular,
imaging of oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) and the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) is a long-
recognized but unmet need in the stroke community. This project develops novel, clinically feasible tools
for non-invasive oxygenation imaging, to study how the brain dynamically meets its oxygen needs and
identify key pathophysiology in neurological patients.
Our specific aims are (1) to enhance MRI-based reconstructions of OEF maps through novel “fingerprint
matching” to microvascular voxel simulations and validation with the [15O]-oxygen gas PET reference;
and (2) to develop a hybrid PET and MRI approach to rapidly image CMRO2 dynamics and its functional
networks during a single resting scan.
The novelty of this work lies in leveraging the unique capabilities of simultaneous PET/MRI scanners.
The use of a PET/MRI system to validate and augment MRI-only methods for clinical OEF assessment
with simultaneous PET scans is highly innovative. Hybrid measurements also allow for new, rapid CMRO2
imaging approaches that embody the best of each modality – fast and quantitative – to model brain
functional connectivity and disease. Success of this proposal will generate novel neuroimaging tools to
study brain oxygen consumption that are broadly applicable to any site with an MRI scanner. These
advancements will enable use of physiological imaging biomarkers to evaluate endovascular therapies
and reduce stroke risk, and enhance our fundamental neuroscience capabilities to understand the
vascular underpinnings of brain function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10901934
- **Project number:** 5R21EB032485-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Audrey Peiwen Fan
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $239,473
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10901934

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10901934, Imaging of human brain oxygenation and oxygen metabolism dynamics (5R21EB032485-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10901934. Licensed CC0.

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