Arterial input function placement effect on computed tomography lung perfusion maps

Dynamic perfusion computed tomography (DPCT) is becoming an important functional imaging technique on clinical management. It is an established and widely utilized tool in patients with an acute cerebrovascular accident to assess viability of brain tissue (1-3). In oncology, it is being increasingly recognized to assess tumor vascularity (4-6) and it has been studied in different organs, including the liver (7), the kidneys (8), the pancreas (9) and the lungs (10). Functional imaging with computed tomography (CT) has many advantages over other imaging techniques such as nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT offers wider availability, shorter exam times, higher temporal and spatial resolution and a linear relationship between the concentration of iodinated contrast medium and the CT attenuation value measures in Hounsfield units (HU)