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• Clinical Article •
Value of multi-delay arterial spin labeling in evaluating territorial perfusion injury in patients with posterior circulation ischemic stroke
ZHANG Yuting  RUAN Ao  LI Lulu  SHANG Songan  QIU Anqi  ZHI Tao  ZHANG Hongying  CHEN Beilei  YE Jing 

Cite this article as: ZHANG Y T, RUAN A, LI L L, et al. Value of multi-delay arterial spin labeling in evaluating territorial perfusion injury in patients with posterior circulation ischemic stroke[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(9): 84-91. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.09.012.


[Abstract] Objective To explore the value of multi-delay arterial spin labeling (m-ASL) in assessing territorial perfusion impairment in patients with posterior circulation ischemic stroke (PCIS).Materials and Methods This prospective study included 54 PCIS patients [29 in the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) group, 25 in the vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) group] and 27 healthy control (HC). All subjects underwent both single-delay ASL (s-ASL) and m-ASL scanning sequences. Parameters including CBF2000, corrected cerebral blood flow (cCBF), arterial transit time (ATT), and arterial cerebral blood volume (aCBV) were obtained. Independent samples t-test was used to compare parameters between the unaffected side of PCIS patients and the HC. Paired sample t-test was used to compare CBF from s-ASL and m-ASL between the HC and PCIS patients, as well as to compare various parameters between the infarct lesions and their mirror regions in PCIS patients.Results The CBF measured in the posterior circulation by m-ASL was significantly higher than that by s-ASL (P < 0.05). In both the PCA and VBA territories, cCBF was significantly lower (P < 0.05) and ATT was significantly prolonged (P < 0.05) on the unaffected side of patients compared to the HC. In the PCA and VBA groups, CBF2000, cCBF, and aCBV were significantly lower in the infarct lesions compared to the mirror regions (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was found in ATT. The ΔCBF from m-ASL was significantly higher than that from s-ASL in the PCA group (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference in ΔCBF was found between the two techniques in the VBA group.Conclusions The m-ASL can correct the underestimation of CBF by s-ASL and provide multiple perfusion parameters, offering a more detailed characterization of perfusion impairment patterns in the posterior circulation territories of PCIS patients.
[Keywords] arterial spin labeling；post labeling delay；ischemic stroke；cerebral blood flow perfusion；magnetic resonance imaging

ZHANG Yuting1, 2   RUAN Ao2   LI Lulu2   SHANG Songan2   QIU Anqi1   ZHI Tao2   ZHANG Hongying2   CHEN Beilei3   YE Jing1, 2*  

1 The Yangzhou Clinical Medical College of Xuzhou Medical University, Yangzhou 225001, China

2 Department of Radiology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou 225001, China

3 Department of Neurology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou 225001, China

Corresponding author: YE J, E-mail: yejing197206@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-05-13
Accepted  2026-08-25
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.09.012
Cite this article as: ZHANG Y T, RUAN A, LI L L, et al. Value of multi-delay arterial spin labeling in evaluating territorial perfusion injury in patients with posterior circulation ischemic stroke[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(9): 84-91. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.09.012.

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