Jeff L. Zhang1, 2, Henry Rusinek3, Christopher Conlin1, 2, Vivian S. Lee1
1Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 2Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 3Department of Radiology, New York University
As microprobe pO2 technique is not applicable for human kidneys, direct correlation between R2* and tissue pO2 has never been studied in human subjects. In order to validate BOLD as a marker of renal oxygenation we have measured the correlation (CC) between BOLD signal and renal functional parameters such as glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and tissue perfusion (F) in normal human kidneys. The strongest associations (CC > 0.60) were found for GFR/FMed vs R2*Med (0.68), GFR/FCx vs R2 Cx (0.65), and GFR/FMed vs R2 Med (0.62).