19F NMR imaging of blood oxygenation in the brain

Abstract
Perfluorcarbon (PFC) emulsions have been developed as oxygen carrying blood substitutes. High fluorine concentrations allow them to be used in 19F NMR imaging of blood vessels. Furthermore, 19F relaxation times in PFCs are dependent on oxygen tension (pO2) so that NMR imaging may provide a noninvasive method of measuring spatially localized pO2 values in vivo. Using these principles, we have formed 19F images and calculated pO2 maps of the cat brain. © 1988 Academic Press, Inc.