Usefulness of dual and fully automated measurements of cerebral blood flow during balloon occlusion test of the internal carotid artery.

Background: This study was conducted to show the reliability of fully automated quantification of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in balloon occlusion test (BOT) of the internal carotid artery (ICA). We also shows the usefulness of ratio of rCBF during BOT to rCBF at rest (BOT/rest ratio = rCBF during BOT/rCBF at rest) rather than asymmetry index (AI) during BOT (AI = occluded-side rCBF/contralateral rCBF).

Methods: In the last 2 years, we performed the BOT on 10 consecutive patients (4 with intracranial aneurysms and 6 with head and neck tumors).