Functional parameters and especially information on brain tissue perfusion is gaining importance in lesion characterisation. With the arterial spin labelling technique (syngo ASL), a non-contrast based method for the evaluation of brain perfusion is now clinically widely applicable and is potentially influencing imaging protocols. Oleaga et al. (case: Astrocytoma), Matsuda et al. (case: Alzheimer´s disease) and Rovira et al. (case: ITD) demonstrate in their case reports how syngo ASL is supporting the detection and characterisation of brain pathologies.