Integrity of Blood Brain Barrier

… new paths to exploration

Understanding cerebral perfusion and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability is crucial for advancing research in neuroscience, oncology, and psychiatry. Our multi-TE arterial spin labeling (ASL) MR sequence enables precise, patient-friendly investigations—without the need for contrast agents.
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Joint expertise for the success of your research

A potential indicator of the integrity of the blood-brain barrier is the exchange time Tex, which represents the time water molecules in neuronal capillaries take to transition from blood to tissue. In addition to brain maps of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and arterial transit time (ATT), we also provide researchers and clinicians with an analysis of Tex. We integrate state-of-the-art evaluation algorithms into user-friendly workflows that generate automated reports tailored to your scientific questions on perfusion and permeability.

Our secure, web-based platform mTRIAL ensures pseudonymized data handling and compliance with the highest data protection standards.

Backed by leading institutions such as Fraunhofer MEVIS, Amsterdam UMC, and Quantified Imaging, this solution provides an end-to-end approach—from scientific consulting and sequence installation to advanced data analysis.

More research in this field is to come and will show how Tex correlates to the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and can be used clinically in the future. Be part of this research: Contact us if you want to join us on this exciting journey!

Current publications on…

…BBB integrity related to aging and cognition:

Tee et al. Associations between potential risk factors and blood-brain barrier water permeability in middle-aged and older adults J. Alzheimer’s Dis. 2025

Padrela et al. Blood-brain barrier water permeability across the adult lifespan: A multi-echo ASL study Neurobiol Aging. 2025

…BBB integrity assessed by ASL in gliomas and metastases, and comparison to invasive contrast enhanced imaging:

Hoffmann et al. Noninvasive blood-brain barrier integrity mapping in patients with high-grade glioma and metastasis by multi-echo time-encoded arterial spin labeling Magn Reson Med. 2025

Multi-TE ASL not only allows the blood flow in the brain to be visualized non-invasively on MR images…

…but in combination with corresponding mathematical models, conclusions can also be drawn about the permeability of the capillaries.

In addition, user-friendly workflows generate automatic reports on your scientific questions regarding perfusion and permeability.

« There is much to suggest that our multi-echo ASL MR sequence enables the non-invasive analysis of the blood-brain barrier. The implementation in the gammaSTAR framework makes us particularly flexible with regard to multi-centre clinical studies and research projects. »

Prof. Dr. Matthias Günther,
CEO