Information Criteria for Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Inflammatory lesions form in the brain and spinal cord of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In many active MS lesions, blood flows abnormally into the white matter of the brain due to breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which is know to be associated with morbidity and disability. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) allows quantitative study of blood flow and permeability dynamics throughout the brain. In our study, we observe 15 patients who undergo DCE-MRI periodically throughout a year. In this paper, we design and study spatiotemporal parameters of interest that cannot be obtained by visual inspection. Examples of such parameters are the rate and maximum intensity observed in regions of interest. We develop semi parametric methods for this quantification of BBB disruption at each visit.