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Reichert S, Schepkin V, Kleimaier D, Zöllner FG, Schad LR. Sodium triple quantum MR signal extraction using a single-pulse sequence with single quantum time efficiency. Magn Reson Med 2024; 92:900-915. [PMID: 38650306 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.30107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Sodium triple quantum (TQ) signal has been shown to be a valuable biomarker for cell viability. Despite its clinical potential, application of Sodium TQ signal is hindered by complex pulse sequences with long scan times. This study proposes a method to approximate the TQ signal using a single excitation pulse without phase cycling. METHODS The proposed method is based on a single excitation pulse and a comparison of the free induction decay (FID) with the integral of the FID combined with a shifting reconstruction window. The TQ signal is calculated from this FID only. As a proof of concept, the method was also combined with a multi-echo UTE imaging sequence on a 9.4 T preclinical MRI scanner for the possibility of fast TQ MRI. RESULTS The extracted Sodium TQ signals of single-pulse and spin echo FIDs were in close agreement with theory and TQ measurement by traditional three-pulse sequence (TQ time proportional phase increment [TQTPPI)]. For 2%, 4%, and 6% agar samples, the absolute deviations of the maximum TQ signals between SE and theoretical (time proportional phase increment TQTPPI) TQ signals were less than 1.2% (2.4%), and relative deviations were less than 4.6% (6.8%). The impact of multi-compartment systems and noise on the accuracy of the TQ signal was small for simulated data. The systematic error was <3.4% for a single quantum (SQ) SNR of 5 and at maximum <2.5% for a multi-compartment system. The method also showed the potential of fast in vivo SQ and TQ imaging. CONCLUSION Simultaneous SQ and TQ MRI using only a single-pulse sequence and SQ time efficiency has been demonstrated. This may leverage the full potential of the Sodium TQ signal in clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Reichert
- Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
- Mannheim Institute for Intelligent Systems in Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
- Cooperative Core Facility Animal Scanner ZI, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Victor Schepkin
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Dennis Kleimaier
- Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Frank G Zöllner
- Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
- Mannheim Institute for Intelligent Systems in Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
- Cooperative Core Facility Animal Scanner ZI, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Lothar R Schad
- Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
- Mannheim Institute for Intelligent Systems in Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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Handa P, Samkaria A, Sharma S, Arora Y, Mandal PK. Comprehensive Account of Sodium Imaging and Spectroscopy for Brain Research. ACS Chem Neurosci 2022; 13:859-875. [PMID: 35324144 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sodium (23Na) is a vital component of neuronal cells and plays a key role in various signal transmission processes. Hence, information on sodium distribution in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides useful information on neuronal health. 23Na MRI and MR spectroscopy (MRS) improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical monitoring of neurological diseases but confront some inherent limitations that lead to low signal-to-noise ratio, longer scan time, and diminished partial volume effects. Recent advancements in multinuclear MR technology have helped in further exploration in this domain. We aim to provide a comprehensive description of 23Na MRI and MRS for brain research including the following aspects: (a) theoretical background for understanding 23Na MRI and MRS fundamentals; (b) technological advancements of 23Na MRI with respect to pulse sequences, RF coils, and sodium compartmentalization; (c) applications of 23Na MRI in the early diagnosis and prognosis of various neurological disorders; (d) structural-chronological evolution of sodium spectroscopy in terms of its numerous applications in human studies; (e) the data-processing tools utilized in the quantitation of sodium in the respective anatomical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Palak Handa
- Neuroimaging and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122051, India
| | - Avantika Samkaria
- Neuroimaging and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122051, India
| | - Shallu Sharma
- Neuroimaging and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122051, India
| | - Yashika Arora
- Neuroimaging and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122051, India
| | - Pravat K. Mandal
- Neuroimaging and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122051, India
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne School of Medicine Campus, Melbourne 3010, Australia
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Polak P, Schulte RF, Noseworthy MD. An approach to evaluation of the point-spread function for 23 Na magnetic resonance imaging. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2022; 35:e4627. [PMID: 34652040 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Despite the technical challenges that require lengthy acquisitions to overcome poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), sodium (23 Na) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an intriguing area of research due to its essential role in human metabolism. Low SNR images can impact the measurement of the point-spread function (PSF) by adding uncertainty into the resulting quantities. Here, we present methods to calculate the PSF by using the modulation transfer function (MTF), and a 3D-printed line-pair phantom in the context of 23 Na MRI. A simulation study investigated the effect of noise on the resulting MTF curves, which were derived by direct modulation (DM) and a method utilizing Fourier harmonics (FHs). Experimental data utilized a line-pair phantom with nine spatial frequencies, filled with different concentrations (15, 30, and 60 mM) of sodium in 3% agar. MTF curves were calculated using both methods from data acquired from density-adapted 3D radial projections (DA-3DRP) and Fermat looped orthogonally encoded trajectories (FLORET). Simulations indicated that the DM method increased variability in the MTF curves at all tested noise levels over the FH method. For the experimental data, the FH method resulted in PSFs with a narrower full width half maximum with reduced variability, although the improvement in variability was not as pronounced as predicted by simulations. The DA-3DRP data indicated an improvement in the PSF over FLORET. It was concluded that a 3D-printed line-pair phantom represents a convenient method to measure the PSF experimentally. The MTFs from the noisy images in 23 Na MRI have reduced variability from a FH method over DM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Polak
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Imaging Research Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Michael D Noseworthy
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Imaging Research Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Radiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Giovannetti G, Flori A, Martini N, Francischello R, Aquaro GD, Pingitore A, Frijia F. Sodium Radiofrequency Coils for Magnetic Resonance: From Design to Applications. ELECTRONICS 2021; 10:1788. [DOI: 10.3390/electronics10151788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/30/2023]
Abstract
Sodium (23Na) is the most abundant cation present in the human body and is involved in a large number of vital body functions. In the last few years, the interest in Sodium Magnetic Resonance Imaging (23Na MRI) has considerably increased for its relevance in physiological and physiopathological aspects. Indeed, sodium MRI offers the possibility to extend the anatomical imaging information by providing additional and complementary information on physiology and cellular metabolism with the heteronuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Constraints are the rapidly decaying of sodium signal, the sensitivity lack due to the low sodium concentration versus 1H-MRI induce scan times not clinically acceptable and it also constitutes a challenge for sodium MRI. With the available magnetic fields for clinical MRI scanners (1.5 T, 3 T, 7 T), and the hardware capabilities such as strong gradient strengths with high slew rates and new dedicated radiofrequency (RF) sodium coils, it is possible to reach reasonable measurement times (~10–15 min) with a resolution of a few millimeters, where it has already been applied in vivo in many human organs such as the brain, cartilage, kidneys, heart, as well as in muscle and the breast. In this work, we review the different geometries and setup of sodium coils described in the available literature for different in vivo applications in human organs with clinical MR scanners, by providing details of the design, modeling and construction of the coils.
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Alhulail AA, Xia P, Shen X, Nichols M, Volety S, Farley N, Thomas MA, Nagel AM, Dydak U, Emir UE. Fast in vivo 23 Na imaging and T 2 ∗ mapping using accelerated 2D-FID UTE magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging at 3 T: Proof of concept and reliability study. Magn Reson Med 2020; 85:1783-1794. [PMID: 33166096 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To implement an accelerated MR-acquisition method allowing to map T 2 ∗ relaxation and absolute concentration of sodium within skeletal muscles at 3T. METHODS A fast-UTE-2D density-weighted concentric-ring-trajectory 23 Na-MRSI technique was used to acquire 64 time points of FID with a spectral bandwidth of 312.5 Hz with an in-plane resolution of 2.5 × 2.5 mm2 in ~15 min. The fast-relaxing 23 Na signal was localized with a single-shot, inversion-recovery-based, non-echo (SIRENE) outer volume suppression (OVS) method. The sequence was verified using simulation and phantom studies before implementing it in human calf muscles. To evaluate the 2D-SIRENE-MRSI (UTE = 0.55 ms) imaging performance, it was compared to a 3D-MRI (UTE = 0.3 ms) sequence. Both data sets were acquired within 2 same-day sessions to assess repeatability. The T 2 ∗ values were fitted voxel-by-voxel using a biexponential model for the 2D-MRSI data. Finally, intra-subject coefficients of variation (CV) were estimated. RESULTS The MRSI-FID data allowed us to map the fast and slow components of T 2 ∗ in the calf muscles. The spatial distributions of 23 Na concentration for both MRSI and 3D-MRI acquisitions were significantly correlated (P < .001). The test-retest analysis rendered high repeatability for MRSI with a CV of 5%. The mean T 2 Fast ∗ in muscles was 0.7 ± 0.1 ms (contribution fraction = 37%), whereas T 2 Slow ∗ was 13.2 ± 0.2 ms (63%). The mean absolute muscle 23 Na concentration calculated from the T 2 ∗ -corrected data was 28.6 ± 3.3 mM. CONCLUSION The proposed MRSI technique is a reliable technique to map sodium's absolute concentration and T 2 ∗ within a clinically acceptable scan time at 3T.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad A Alhulail
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.,Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University College of Applied Medical Sciences, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia
| | - Pingyu Xia
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Xin Shen
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Miranda Nichols
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Srijyotsna Volety
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Nicholas Farley
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Micheal Albert Thomas
- Department of Radiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Armin M Nagel
- Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.,Division of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ulrike Dydak
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Uzay E Emir
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.,Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
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Kolbe SC, Syeda W, Blunck Y, Glarin R, Law M, Johnston LA, Cleary JO. Microstructural correlates of 23Na relaxation in human brain at 7 Tesla. Neuroimage 2020; 211:116609. [PMID: 32044439 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
23Na provides the second strongest MR-observable signal in biological tissue and exhibits bi-exponential T2∗ relaxation in micro-environments such as the brain. There is significant interest in developing 23Na biomarkers for neurological diseases that are associated with sodium channel dysfunction such as multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. We have previously reported methods for acquisition of multi-echo sodium MRI and continuous distribution modelling of sodium relaxation properties as surrogate markers of brain microstructure. This study aimed to compare 23Na T2∗ relaxation times to more established measures of tissue microstructure derived from advanced diffusion MRI at 7 T. Six healthy volunteers were scanned using a 3D multi-echo radial ultra-short TE sequence using a dual-tuned 1H/23Na birdcage coil, and a high-resolution multi-shell, high angular resolution diffusion imaging sequence using a 32-channel 1H receive coil. 23Na T2∗ relaxation parameters [mean T2∗ (T2∗mean) and fast relaxation fraction (T2∗ff)] were calculated from a voxel-wise continuous gamma distribution signal model. White matter (restricted anisotropic diffusion) and grey matter (restricted isotropic diffusion) density were calculated from multi-shell multi-tissue constrained spherical deconvolution. Sodium parameters were compared with white and grey matter diffusion properties. Sodium T2∗mean and T2∗ff showed little variation across a range of white matter axonal fibre and grey matter densities. We conclude that sodium T2∗ relaxation parameters are not greatly influenced by relative differences in intra- and extracellular partial volumes. We suggest that care be taken when interpreting sodium relaxation changes in terms of tissue microstructure in healthy tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott C Kolbe
- Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Australia; Department of Radiology, Alfred Hospital, Australia; Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Warda Syeda
- Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Melbourne, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Yasmin Blunck
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Rebecca Glarin
- Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Meng Law
- Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Australia; Department of Radiology, Alfred Hospital, Australia
| | - Leigh A Johnston
- Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Melbourne, Australia; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Jon O Cleary
- Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Melbourne, Australia; Department of Radiology, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
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Blunck Y, Kolbe SC, Moffat BA, Ordidge RJ, Cleary JO, Johnston LA. Compressed sensing effects on quantitative analysis of undersampled human brain sodium MRI. Magn Reson Med 2019; 83:1025-1033. [DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin Blunck
- Department of Biomedical Engineering The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit Department of Medicine and Radiology The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
| | - Scott C. Kolbe
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit Department of Medicine and Radiology The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
| | - Bradford A. Moffat
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit Department of Medicine and Radiology The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
| | - Roger J. Ordidge
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit Department of Medicine and Radiology The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
| | - Jon O. Cleary
- Department of Radiology Guy's and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust London UK
| | - Leigh A. Johnston
- Department of Biomedical Engineering The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
- Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit Department of Medicine and Radiology The University of Melbourne Parkville Australia
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