# Cerebrovascular Reserve Imaging with Simultaneous PET/MRI Using Arterial Spin Labeling and Deep Learning

> **NIH NIH R01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $565,941

## Abstract

Cerebrovascular disease remains a common cause of death and major disability
in the United States, and identifying and preventing strokes should be a high
priority. Direct measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) is challeng-
ing in these patients, since we do not have a non-invasive, radiation-free
imaging method that has been appropriately validated against gold standard
techniques. This is important, because there is compelling evidence that
measuring the CBF change before and after a stress test meant to increase CBF
(a measurement known as cerebrovascular reserve [CVR]) can identify patients
at increased stroke risk. Stress tests have been a mainstay of the diagnostic
workup of cardiology patients for many years, and we believe strongly that their
use will benefit cerebrovascular disease patients as well.
The goal of this project is to improve the quality of arterial spin label (ASL)
MRI using deep learning, a powerful form of machine learning, that is currently
undergoing tremendous progress. We will then to apply this in a prospective,
adaptive validation trial against oxygen-15 water PET CBF, using simultaneous
PET/MRI to minimize biological variability. Finally, we will apply this improv-
ed tool to study the effects of gender on CVR and its reproducibility.
Successful completion of this study will result in a validated methodology to
assess CVR in cerebrovascular disease patients without the use of radiation or
contrast. As such, it will provide solid, evidence-based recommendations for
clinicians developing new paradigms and interventions in patients with
impaired CVR.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9961582
- **Project number:** 5R01EB025220-03
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory George Zaharchuk
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $565,941
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-20 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9961582

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9961582, Cerebrovascular Reserve Imaging with Simultaneous PET/MRI Using Arterial Spin Labeling and Deep Learning (5R01EB025220-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9961582. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*