CT perfusion of the neck: Internal carotid artery versus external carotid artery as the reference artery

Abstract

Arterial selection for reference time-enhancement curve generation in deconvolutionbased perfusion CT (PCT) studies of the head and neck is underevaluated. This study of 11 patients with confirmed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma demonstrates significant correlation (range, r = 0.85-0.95) between perfusion parameter values derived with internal carotid artery (ICA) as compared to an external carotid artery reference, supporting the use of the ICA as arterial reference in PCT studies of the neck.