ASLtbx

ASLtbx processes and quantifies arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI data to estimate regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and associated functional connectivity for neuroimaging studies.

Key Features:

• Updated processing scripts: Includes asl_perf_subtract.m with updated parameters T1b, T2wm, and Rwm-blood and uses voxelwise M0 to improve CBF quantification, particularly for pseudo-continuous ASL (PASL).
• SPM12 integration: Provides wrapper functors to integrate processing steps with Statistical Parametric Mapping version 12 (SPM12).
• Sensitivity to slow fluctuations: Leverages ASL's sensitivity to slowly fluctuating brain signals to capture tonic or continuously varying states that may be missed by BOLD fMRI.
• Non-invasive longitudinal measurement: Enables repeated within-subject ASL measures without radioligands or contrast agents, supporting longitudinal and clinical trial designs.
• Functional connectivity estimation: Supports simultaneous estimation of functional connectivity changes alongside perfusion measurements.

Scientific Applications:

• Pain research: Applied to study tonic, post-surgical, and chronic pain by measuring slow CBF fluctuations and their neural correlates.
• Clinical trials and longitudinal studies: Used for within-subject repeated measures to assess treatment effects over time without exposure to radioligands or contrast agents.
• Multimodal imaging: Combined with other neuroimaging techniques to provide complementary perfusion and connectivity information.

Methodology:

Processing uses asl_perf_subtract.m with parameters T1b, T2wm, and Rwm-blood and voxelwise M0 for CBF quantification; processing steps are integrated via SPM12 wrapper functors; outputs include regional CBF estimates and functional connectivity measures.