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Zhu Y, Wang G, Gu Y, Zhao W, Lu J, Zhu J, MacAskill CJ, Dupuis A, Griswold MA, Ma D, Flask CA, Yu X. 3D MR fingerprinting for dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging of whole mouse brain. Magn Reson Med 2024. [PMID: 39164799 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.30253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/28/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Quantitative MRI enables direct quantification of contrast agent concentrations in contrast-enhanced scans. However, the lengthy scan times required by conventional methods are inadequate for tracking contrast agent transport dynamically in mouse brain. We developed a 3D MR fingerprinting (MRF) method for simultaneous T1 and T2 mapping across the whole mouse brain with 4.3-min temporal resolution. METHOD We designed a 3D MRF sequence with variable acquisition segment lengths and magnetization preparations on a 9.4T preclinical MRI scanner. Model-based reconstruction approaches were employed to improve the accuracy and speed of MRF acquisition. The method's accuracy for T1 and T2 measurements was validated in vitro, while its repeatability of T1 and T2 measurements was evaluated in vivo (n = 3). The utility of the 3D MRF sequence for dynamic tracking of intracisternally infused gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) in the whole mouse brain was demonstrated (n = 5). RESULTS Phantom studies confirmed accurate T1 and T2 measurements by 3D MRF with an undersampling factor of up to 48. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRF scans achieved a spatial resolution of 192 × 192 × 500 μm3 and a temporal resolution of 4.3 min, allowing for the analysis and comparison of dynamic changes in concentration and transport kinetics of intracisternally infused Gd-DTPA across brain regions. The sequence also enabled highly repeatable, high-resolution T1 and T2 mapping of the whole mouse brain (192 × 192 × 250 μm3) in 30 min. CONCLUSION We present the first dynamic and multi-parametric approach for quantitatively tracking contrast agent transport in the mouse brain using 3D MRF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuran Zhu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Guanhua Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Yuning Gu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Walter Zhao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Jiahao Lu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Junqing Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Christina J MacAskill
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Andrew Dupuis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Mark A Griswold
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Dan Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Chris A Flask
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Xin Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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Jun Y, Arefeen Y, Cho J, Fujita S, Wang X, Ellen Grant P, Gagoski B, Jaimes C, Gee MS, Bilgic B. Zero-DeepSub: Zero-shot deep subspace reconstruction for rapid multiparametric quantitative MRI using 3D-QALAS. Magn Reson Med 2024; 91:2459-2482. [PMID: 38282270 PMCID: PMC11005062 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.30018] [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: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop and evaluate methods for (1) reconstructing 3D-quantification using an interleaved Look-Locker acquisition sequence with T2 preparation pulse (3D-QALAS) time-series images using a low-rank subspace method, which enables accurate and rapid T1 and T2 mapping, and (2) improving the fidelity of subspace QALAS by combining scan-specific deep-learning-based reconstruction and subspace modeling. THEORY AND METHODS A low-rank subspace method for 3D-QALAS (i.e., subspace QALAS) and zero-shot deep-learning subspace method (i.e., Zero-DeepSub) were proposed for rapid and high fidelity T1 and T2 mapping and time-resolved imaging using 3D-QALAS. Using an ISMRM/NIST system phantom, the accuracy and reproducibility of the T1 and T2 maps estimated using the proposed methods were evaluated by comparing them with reference techniques. The reconstruction performance of the proposed subspace QALAS using Zero-DeepSub was evaluated in vivo and compared with conventional QALAS at high reduction factors of up to nine-fold. RESULTS Phantom experiments showed that subspace QALAS had good linearity with respect to the reference methods while reducing biases and improving precision compared to conventional QALAS, especially for T2 maps. Moreover, in vivo results demonstrated that subspace QALAS had better g-factor maps and could reduce voxel blurring, noise, and artifacts compared to conventional QALAS and showed robust performance at up to nine-fold acceleration with Zero-DeepSub, which enabled whole-brain T1, T2, and PD mapping at 1 mm isotropic resolution within 2 min of scan time. CONCLUSION The proposed subspace QALAS along with Zero-DeepSub enabled high fidelity and rapid whole-brain multiparametric quantification and time-resolved imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohan Jun
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yamin Arefeen
- Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States
- Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Jaejin Cho
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Shohei Fujita
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Xiaoqing Wang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - P. Ellen Grant
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Borjan Gagoski
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Camilo Jaimes
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michael S. Gee
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Berkin Bilgic
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard/MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Jun Y, Cho J, Wang X, Gee M, Grant PE, Bilgic B, Gagoski B. SSL-QALAS: Self-Supervised Learning for rapid multiparameter estimation in quantitative MRI using 3D-QALAS. Magn Reson Med 2023; 90:2019-2032. [PMID: 37415389 PMCID: PMC10527557 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29786] [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: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop and evaluate a method for rapid estimation of multiparametric T1 , T2 , proton density, and inversion efficiency maps from 3D-quantification using an interleaved Look-Locker acquisition sequence with T2 preparation pulse (3D-QALAS) measurements using self-supervised learning (SSL) without the need for an external dictionary. METHODS An SSL-based QALAS mapping method (SSL-QALAS) was developed for rapid and dictionary-free estimation of multiparametric maps from 3D-QALAS measurements. The accuracy of the reconstructed quantitative maps using dictionary matching and SSL-QALAS was evaluated by comparing the estimated T1 and T2 values with those obtained from the reference methods on an International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine/National Institute of Standards and Technology phantom. The SSL-QALAS and the dictionary-matching methods were also compared in vivo, and generalizability was evaluated by comparing the scan-specific, pre-trained, and transfer learning models. RESULTS Phantom experiments showed that both the dictionary-matching and SSL-QALAS methods produced T1 and T2 estimates that had a strong linear agreement with the reference values in the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine/National Institute of Standards and Technology phantom. Further, SSL-QALAS showed similar performance with dictionary matching in reconstructing the T1 , T2 , proton density, and inversion efficiency maps on in vivo data. Rapid reconstruction of multiparametric maps was enabled by inferring the data using a pre-trained SSL-QALAS model within 10 s. Fast scan-specific tuning was also demonstrated by fine-tuning the pre-trained model with the target subject's data within 15 min. CONCLUSION The proposed SSL-QALAS method enabled rapid reconstruction of multiparametric maps from 3D-QALAS measurements without an external dictionary or labeled ground-truth training data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohan Jun
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jaejin Cho
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Xiaoqing Wang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Michael Gee
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - P. Ellen Grant
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Berkin Bilgic
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard/MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Borjan Gagoski
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
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Gustavo Cuña E, Schulz H, Tuzzi E, Biagi L, Bosco P, García-Fontes M, Mattos J, Tosetti M, Engelmann J, Scheffler K, Hagberg GE. Simulated and experimental phantom data for multi-center quality assurance of quantitative susceptibility maps at 3 T, 7 T and 9.4 T. Phys Med 2023; 110:102590. [PMID: 37116389 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2023.102590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop methods for quality assurance of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) using MRI at different magnetic field strengths, and scanners, using different MR-sequence protocols, and post-processing pipelines. METHODS We built a custom phantom based on iron in two forms: homogeneous susceptibility ('free iron') and with fine-scaled variations in susceptibility ('clustered iron') at different iron concentrations. The phantom was measured at 3.0 T (two scanners), 7.0 T and 9.4 T using multi-echo, gradient echo acquisition sequences. A digital phantom analogue to the iron-phantom, tailored to obtain similar results as in experimentation was developed, with similar geometry and susceptibility values. Morphology enabled dipole inversion was applied to the phase images to obtain QSM for experimental and simulated data using the MEDI + 0 approach for background regularization. RESULTS Across all scanners, QSM-values showed a linear increase with iron concentrations. The QSM-relaxivity was 0.231 ± 0.047 ppm/mM for free and 0.054 ± 0.013 ppm/mM for clustered iron, with adjusted determination coefficients (DoC) ≥ 0.87. Similarly, the simulations yielded linear increases (DoC ≥ 0.99). In both the experimental and digital phantoms, the estimated molar susceptibility was lower with clustered iron, because clustering led to highly localized field effects. CONCLUSION Our iron phantom can be used to evaluate the capability of QSM to detect local variations in susceptibility across different field strengths, when using different MR-sequence protocols. The devised simulation method captures the effect of iron clustering in QSM as seen experimentally and could be used in the future to optimize QSM processing pipelines and achieve higher accuracy for local field effects, as also seen in Alzheimer's beta-amyloid plaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Gustavo Cuña
- Medical Physics, Centro Uruguayo de Imagenología Molecular, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Hildegard Schulz
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Tuzzi
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Javier Mattos
- Centro Uruguayo de Imagenología Molecular, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | | | - Jörn Engelmann
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gisela E Hagberg
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
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Ziegs T, Ruhm L, Wright A, Henning A. Mapping of glutamate metabolism using 1H FID-MRSI after oral administration of [1-13C]Glc at 9.4 T. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119940. [PMID: 36787828 PMCID: PMC10030312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Glutamate is the major excitatory transmitter in the brain and malfunction of the related metabolism is associated with various neurological diseases and disorders. The observation of labeling changes in the spectra after the administration of a 13C labelled tracer is a common tool to gain better insights into the function of the metabolic system. But so far, only a very few studies presenting the labeling effects in more than two voxels to show the spatial dependence of metabolism. In the present work, the labeling effects were measured in a transversal plane in the human brain using ultra-short TE and TR 1H FID-MRSI. The measurement set-up was most simple: The [1-13C]Glc was administered orally instead of intravenous and the spectra were measured with a pure 1H technique without the need of a 13C channel (as Boumezbeur et al. demonstrated in 2004). Thus, metabolic maps and enrichment curves could be obtained for more metabolites and in more voxels than ever before in human brain. Labeling changes could be observed in [4-13C]glutamate, [3-13C]glutamate+glutamine, [2-13C]glutamate+glutamine, [4-13C]glutamine, and [3-13C]aspartate with a high temporal (3.6 min) and spatial resolution (32 × 32 grid with nominal voxel size of 0.33 µL) in five volunteers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresia Ziegs
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max-Planck-Ring 11, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Otfried-Müller-Str. 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Loreen Ruhm
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max-Planck-Ring 11, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Otfried-Müller-Str. 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andrew Wright
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max-Planck-Ring 11, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Otfried-Müller-Str. 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Max-Planck-Ring 11, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, United States
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Reynolds LA, Morris SR, Vavasour IM, Barlow L, Laule C, MacKay AL, Michal CA. Nonaqueous magnetization following adiabatic and selective pulses in brain: T1 and cross-relaxation dynamics. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2023:e4936. [PMID: 36973767 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Inversion pulses are commonly employed in MRI for T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ -weighted contrast and relaxation measurements. In the brain, it is often assumed that adiabatic pulses saturate the nonaqueous magnetization. We investigated this assumption using solid-state NMR to monitor the nonaqueous signal directly following adiabatic inversion and compared this with signals following hard and soft inversion pulses. The effects of the different preparations on relaxation dynamics were explored. Inversion recovery experiments were performed on ex vivo bovine and porcine brains using 360-MHz (8.4 T) and 200-MHz (4.7 T) NMR spectrometers, respectively, using broadband rectangular, adiabatic, and sinc inversion pulses as well as a long rectangular saturation pulse. Analogous human brain MRI experiments were performed at 3 T using single-slice echo-planar imaging. Relaxation data were fitted by mono- and biexponential decay models. Further fitting analysis was performed using only two inversion delay times. Adiabatic and sinc inversion left much of the nonaqueous magnetization along B 0 $$ {B}_0 $$ and resulted in biexponential relaxation. Saturation of both aqueous and nonaqueous magnetization components led to effectively monoexponential T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ relaxation. Typical adiabatic inversion pulses do not, as has been widely assumed, saturate the nonaqueous proton magnetization in white matter. Unequal magnetization states in aqueous and nonaqueous 1 H reservoirs prepared by soft and adiabatic pulses result in biexponential T 1 $$ {T}_1 $$ relaxation. Both pools must be prepared in the same magnetization state (e.g., saturated or inverted) in order to observe consistent monoexponential relaxation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke A Reynolds
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Sarah R Morris
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Irene M Vavasour
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- UBC MRI Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Laura Barlow
- UBC MRI Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cornelia Laule
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alex L MacKay
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- UBC MRI Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Carl A Michal
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Hagberg GE, Eckstein K, Tuzzi E, Zhou J, Robinson S, Scheffler K. Phase-based masking for quantitative susceptibility mapping of the human brain at 9.4T. Magn Reson Med 2022; 88:2267-2276. [PMID: 35754142 PMCID: PMC7613679 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop improved tissue masks for QSM. METHODS Masks including voxels at the brain surface were automatically generated from the magnitude alone (MM) or combined with test functions from the first (PG) or second (PB) derivative of the sign of the wrapped phase. Phase images at 3T and 9.4T were simulated at different TEs and used to generate a mask, PItoh , with between-voxel phase differences less than π. MM, PG, and PB were compared with PItoh . QSM were generated from 3D multi-echo gradient-echo data acquired at 9.4T (21 subjects aged: 20-56y), and from the QSM2016 challenge 3T data using different masks, unwrapping, background removal, and dipole inversion algorithms. QSM contrast was quantified using age-based iron concentrations. RESULTS Close to air cavities, phase wraps became denser with increasing field and echo time, yielding increased values of the test functions. Compared with PItoh , PB had the highest Dice coefficient, while PG had the lowest and MM the highest percentage of voxels outside PItoh. Artifacts observed in QSM at 9.4T with MM were mitigated by stronger background filters but yielded a reduced QSM contrast. With PB, QSM contrast was greater and artifacts diminished. Similar results were obtained with challenge data, evidencing larger effects of mask close to air cavities. CONCLUSION Automatic, phase-based masking founded on the second derivative of the sign of the wrapped phase, including cortical voxels at the brain surface, was able to mitigate artifacts and restore QSM contrast across cortical and subcortical brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela E. Hagberg
- Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Korbinian Eckstein
- High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Tuzzi
- Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jiazheng Zhou
- Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Simon Robinson
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
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8
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Glasser MF, Coalson TS, Harms MP, Xu J, Baum GL, Autio JA, Auerbach EJ, Greve DN, Yacoub E, Van Essen DC, Bock NA, Hayashi T. Empirical transmit field bias correction of T1w/T2w myelin maps. Neuroimage 2022; 258:119360. [PMID: 35697132 PMCID: PMC9483036 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
T1-weighted divided by T2-weighted (T1w/T2w) myelin maps were initially developed for neuroanatomical analyses such as identifying cortical areas, but they are increasingly used in statistical comparisons across individuals and groups with other variables of interest. Existing T1w/T2w myelin maps contain radiofrequency transmit field (B1+) biases, which may be correlated with these variables of interest, leading to potentially spurious results. Here we propose two empirical methods for correcting these transmit field biases using either explicit measures of the transmit field or alternatively a 'pseudo-transmit' approach that is highly correlated with the transmit field at 3T. We find that the resulting corrected T1w/T2w myelin maps are both better neuroanatomical measures (e.g., for use in cross-species comparisons), and more appropriate for statistical comparisons of relative T1w/T2w differences across individuals and groups (e.g., sex, age, or body-mass-index) within a consistently acquired study at 3T. We recommend that investigators who use the T1w/T2w approach for mapping cortical myelin use these B1+ transmit field corrected myelin maps going forward.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michael P Harms
- Psychiatry, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Junqian Xu
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States; Departments of Radiology and Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Graham L Baum
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Joonas A Autio
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
| | - Edward J Auerbach
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Douglas N Greve
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Essa Yacoub
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | | | - Nicholas A Bock
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Takuya Hayashi
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan
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Wright AM, Murali-Manohar S, Henning A. Quantitative T1-relaxation corrected metabolite mapping of 12 metabolites in the human brain at 9.4 T. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119574. [PMID: 36058442 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) is a non-invasive imaging modality that enables observation of metabolites. Applications of MRSI for neuroimaging have shown promise for monitoring and detecting various diseases. This study builds off previously developed techniques of short TR, 1H FID MRSI by correcting for T1-weighting of the metabolites and utilizing an internal water reference to produce quantitative (mmol kg-1) metabolite maps. This work reports and shows quantitative metabolite maps for 12 metabolites for a single slice. Voxel-specific T1-corrections for water are common in MRSI studies; however, most studies use either averaged T1-relaxation times to correct for T1-weighting of metabolites or omit this correction step entirely. This work employs the use of voxel-specific T1-corrections for metabolites in addition to water. Utilizing averaged T1-relaxation times for metabolites can bias metabolite maps for metabolites that have strong differences between T1-relaxation for GM and WM (i.e. Glu). This work systematically compares quantitative metabolite maps to single voxel quantitative results and qualitatively compares metabolite maps to previous works.
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10
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Gu Y, Wang L, Yang H, Wu Y, Kim K, Zhu Y, Androjna C, Zhu X, Chen Y, Zhong K, Yu X. Three-dimensional high-resolution T 1 and T 2 mapping of whole macaque brain at 9.4 T using magnetic resonance fingerprinting. Magn Reson Med 2022; 87:2901-2913. [PMID: 35129226 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Quantitative T1 and T2 mapping in non-human primates with whole-brain coverage is challenged by the requirement of sub-millimeter resolution and the inhomogeneity of the transmit magnetic field (B1 + ) covering a large field of view. The goal of the current study is to develop a magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) method for simultaneous T1 and T2 mapping of the entire macaque brain within feasible scan time. METHODS A three-dimensional (3D) MRF sequence with both inversion- and T2 -preparation modules was developed and evaluated on a 9.4 T preclinical scanner. Data acquisition used a 3D stack-of-spirals trajectory, with undersampling along both the in-plane and the through-plane directions. The effect of B1 + inhomogeneity was accounted for by matching the acquired fingerprint to a dictionary simulated with the B1 + factors measured from a separate scan. In vitro and ex vivo studies were performed to evaluate the accuracy and the undersampling capacity of the MRF method. The application of the MRF method for in vivo, brain-wide T1 and T2 mapping was demonstrated on macaques at 4, 6, and 12 years of age. RESULTS The MRF method enabled highly repeatable T1 and T2 mapping at high spatial resolution (0.35 × 0.35 × 1 mm3 ) with an acceleration factor of 24. In vivo studies showed significant age-related T2 reduction in deep gray nuclei including the globus pallidus, the putamen, and the caudate nucleus. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the first MRF study for brain-wide, multi-parametric quantification in non-human primates with sub-millimeter resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning Gu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Lulu Wang
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Hongyi Yang
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.,School of Graduate Studies, Science Island Branch, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Yun Wu
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Kihwan Kim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Yuran Zhu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Charlie Androjna
- Center for Preclinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Xiaofeng Zhu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Yong Chen
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Kai Zhong
- High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.,Biomedical Engineering Department, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Yu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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11
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Olsson H, Andersen M, Kadhim M, Helms G. MP3RAGE: Simultaneous mapping of T 1 and B 1 + in human brain at 7T. Magn Reson Med 2022; 87:2637-2649. [PMID: 35037283 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To map T1 and the local flip angle ( B 1 + ) in human brain using a single MP3RAGE sequence with 3 rapid acquisitions of gradient echoes (RAGEs). THEORY AND METHODS A third RAGE with a relatively high flip angle was appended to an MP2RAGE sequence. Through curve fitting and a rational approximation for small flip angles and short TR, closed form solutions for T1 and B 1 + were derived. The influence of different k-space encoding schemes on precision and whether edge enhancement artifacts could be reduced with a saturation pulse applied prior to the third RAGE were explored. Validation of T1 estimates was performed using single-slice inversion recovery (IR) and a subsequent region-of-interest-based comparison, whereas validation of B 1 + was performed using a whole brain pixelwise comparison to a DREAM flip angle mapping protocol. Lastly, MP3RAGE was compared to T1 -mapping by MP2RAGE with separate B 1 + correction. RESULTS Whole brain maps of T1 and B 1 + at 1 mm isotropic resolution were obtained with MP3RAGE in 06:37 min. A linear-reverse centric-reverse centric phase-encoding order of the 3 RAGEs improved precision, and artifacts were successfully reduced with the saturation pulse. Estimations of T1 and B 1 + deviated +2.5 ± 3.1% and -1.7 ± 8.6% from their respective references. CONCLUSION T1 and B 1 + can be mapped simultaneously using MP3RAGE. The approach can be thought of as combining MP2RAGE with a dual flip angle T1 -mapping protocol. Both maps can be solved for analytically and will be inherently co-registered at the high resolution associated with MPRAGE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hampus Olsson
- Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Mads Andersen
- Philips Healthcare, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Lund University Bioimaging Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Mustafa Kadhim
- Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Gunther Helms
- Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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12
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Nazemorroaya A, Aghaeifar A, Shiozawa T, Hirt B, Schulz H, Scheffler K, Hagberg GE. Developing formalin-based fixative agents for post mortem brain MRI at 9.4 T. Magn Reson Med 2021; 87:2481-2494. [PMID: 34931721 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.29122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop fixative agents for high-field MRI with suitable dielectric properties and measure MR properties in immersion-fixed brain tissue. METHODS Dielectric properties of formalin-based agents were assessed (100 MHz-4.5 GHz), and four candidate fixatives with/without polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and different salt concentrations were formulated. B1 field and MR properties (T1 , R 2 ∗ , R2 , R 2 ' , and magnetic susceptibility [QSM]) were observed in white and gray matter of pig brain samples during 0.5-35 days of immersion fixation. The kinetics were fitted using exponential functions. The immersion time required to reach maximum R 2 ∗ values at different tissue depths was used to estimate the Medawar coefficient for fixative penetration. The effect of replacing the fixatives with Fluoroinert and phosphate-buffered saline as embedding media was also evaluated. RESULTS The dielectric properties of formalin were nonlinearly modified by increasing amounts of additives. With 5% PVP and 0.04% NaCl, the dielectric properties and B1 field reflected in vivo conditions. The highest B1 values were found in white matter with PVP and varied significantly with tissue depth and embedding media, but not with immersion time. The MR properties depended on PVP yielding lower T1 , higher R 2 ∗ , more paramagnetic QSM values, and a lower Medawar coefficient (0.9 mm / h ; without PVP: 1.5). Regardless of fixative, switching to phosphate-buffered saline as embedder caused a paramagnetic shift in QSM and decreased R 2 ∗ that progressed during 1 month of storage, whereas no differences were found with Fluorinert. CONCLUSION In vivo-like B1 fields can be achieved in formalin fixatives using PVP and a low salt concentration, yielding lower T1 , higher R 2 ∗ , and more paramagnetic QSM than without additives. The kinetics of R 2 ∗ allowed estimation of fixative tissue penetration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Nazemorroaya
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ali Aghaeifar
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Shiozawa
- Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis, Eberhard Karl's University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Hirt
- Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis, Eberhard Karl's University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hildegard Schulz
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Institute of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gisela E Hagberg
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Institute of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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13
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Ruhm L, Avdievich N, Ziegs T, Nagel AM, De Feyter HM, de Graaf RA, Henning A. Deuterium metabolic imaging in the human brain at 9.4 Tesla with high spatial and temporal resolution. Neuroimage 2021; 244:118639. [PMID: 34637905 PMCID: PMC8591372 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To present first highly spatially resolved deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) measurements of the human brain acquired with a dedicated coil design and a fast chemical shift imaging (CSI) sequence at an ultrahigh field strength of B0 = 9.4 T. 2H metabolic measurements with a temporal resolution of 10 min enabled the investigation of the glucose metabolism in healthy human subjects. METHODS The study was performed with a double-tuned coil with 10 TxRx channels for 1H and 8TxRx/2Rx channels for 2H and an Ernst angle 3D CSI sequence with a nominal spatial resolution of 2.97 ml and a temporal resolution of 10 min. RESULTS The metabolism of [6,6'-2H2]-labeled glucose due to the TCA cycle could be made visible in high resolution metabolite images of deuterated water, glucose and Glx over the entire human brain. CONCLUSION X-nuclei MRSI as DMI can highly benefit from ultrahigh field strength enabling higher temporal and spatial resolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loreen Ruhm
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Nikolai Avdievich
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Theresia Ziegs
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Armin M Nagel
- Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany; Division of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Henk M De Feyter
- Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Robin A de Graaf
- Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas/Texas, United States
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14
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Kumar VJ, Scheffler K, Hagberg GE, Grodd W. Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping of the Basal Ganglia and Thalamus at 9.4 Tesla. Front Neuroanat 2021; 15:725731. [PMID: 34602986 PMCID: PMC8483181 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2021.725731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The thalamus (Th) and basal ganglia (BG) are central subcortical connectivity hubs of the human brain, whose functional anatomy is still under intense investigation. Nevertheless, both substructures contain a robust and reproducible functional anatomy. The quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) at ultra-high field may facilitate an improved characterization of the underlying functional anatomy in vivo. We acquired high-resolution QSM data at 9.4 Tesla in 21 subjects, and analyzed the thalamic and BG by using a prior defined functional parcellation. We found a more substantial contribution of paramagnetic susceptibility sources such as iron in the pallidum in contrast to the caudate, putamen, and Th in descending order. The diamagnetic susceptibility sources such as myelin and calcium revealed significant contributions in the Th parcels compared with the BG. This study presents a detailed nuclei-specific delineation of QSM-provided diamagnetic and paramagnetic susceptibility sources pronounced in the BG and the Th. We also found a reasonable interindividual variability as well as slight hemispheric differences. The results presented here contribute to the microstructural knowledge of the Th and the BG. In specific, the study illustrates QSM values (myelin, calcium, and iron) in functionally similar subregions of the Th and the BG.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital and Eberhard-Karl's University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gisela E Hagberg
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital and Eberhard-Karl's University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Grodd
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
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15
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Wright AM, Murali-Manohar S, Borbath T, Avdievich NI, Henning A. Relaxation-corrected macromolecular model enables determination of 1 H longitudinal T 1 -relaxation times and concentrations of human brain metabolites at 9.4T. Magn Reson Med 2021; 87:33-49. [PMID: 34374449 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Ultrahigh field MRS has improved characterization of the neurochemical profile. To compare results obtained at 9.4T to those from lower field strengths, it is of interest to quantify the concentrations of metabolites measured. Thus, measuring T1 -relaxation times is necessary to correct for T1 -weighting that occurs in acquisitions for single-voxel spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging. A macromolecule (MM) simulation model was developed to fit MM contributions to the short TE inversion series used to measure T1 -relaxation times. METHODS An inversion series with seven time points was acquired with metabolite-cycled STEAM to estimate T1 -relaxation times of metabolites. A short TE was employed in this study to retain signals from metabolites with short T2 -relaxation times and J-couplings. The underlying macromolecule spectrum was corrected by developing a sequence-specific, relaxation-corrected simulated MM model. Quantification of metabolite peaks was performed using internal water referencing and relaxation corrections. RESULTS T1 -relaxation times for metabolites range from approximately 750 to approximately 2000 ms and approximately 1000 to approximately 2400 ms in gray matter (GM)- and white matter (WM)- rich voxels, respectively. Quantification of metabolites was compared between GM and WM voxels, as well as between results that used a simulated MM spectrum against those that used an experimentally acquired MM spectrum. Metabolite concentrations are reported in mmol/kg quantities. CONCLUSION T1 -relaxation times are reported for nonsinglet resonances for the first time at 9.4T by use of a MM simulation model to account for contributions from the MM spectrum. In addition to T1 -relaxation times, quantification results of metabolites from GM- and WM-rich voxels are reported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Martin Wright
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,IMPRS for Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Saipavitra Murali-Manohar
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tamas Borbath
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nikolai I Avdievich
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
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16
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Ruhm L, Dorst J, Avdievitch N, Wright AM, Henning A. 3D 31 P MRSI of the human brain at 9.4 Tesla: Optimization and quantitative analysis of metabolic images. Magn Reson Med 2021; 86:2368-2383. [PMID: 34219281 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To present 31 P whole brain MRSI with a high spatial resolution to probe quantitative tissue analysis of 31 P MRSI at an ultrahigh field strength of 9.4 Tesla. METHODS The study protocol included a 31 P MRSI measurement with an effective resolution of 2.47 mL. For SNR optimization, the nuclear Overhauser enhancement at 9.4 Tesla was investigated. A sensitivity correction was achieved by applying a low rank approximation of the γ-adenosine triphosphate signal. Group analysis and regression on individual volunteers were performed to investigate quantitative concentration differences between different tissue types. RESULTS Differences in gray and white matter tissue 31 P concentrations could be investigated for 12 different 31 P resonances. In addition, the first highly resolved quantitative MRSI images measured at B0 = 9.4 Tesla of 31 P detectable metabolites with high SNR could be presented. CONCLUSION With an ultrahigh field strength B0 = 9.4 Tesla, 31 P MRSI moves further toward quantitative metabolic imaging, and subtle differences in concentrations between different tissue types can be detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loreen Ruhm
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johanna Dorst
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nikolai Avdievitch
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andrew Martin Wright
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
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17
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Tuzzi E, Balla DZ, Loureiro JRA, Neumann M, Laske C, Pohmann R, Preische O, Scheffler K, Hagberg GE. Ultra-High Field MRI in Alzheimer's Disease: Effective Transverse Relaxation Rate and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping of Human Brain In Vivo and Ex Vivo compared to Histology. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 73:1481-1499. [PMID: 31958079 DOI: 10.3233/jad-190424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. So far, diagnosis of AD is only unequivocally defined through postmortem histology. Amyloid plaques are a classical hallmark of AD and amyloid load is currently quantified by Positron Emission tomography (PET) in vivo. Ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (UHF-MRI) can potentially provide a non-invasive biomarker for AD by allowing imaging of pathological processes at a very-high spatial resolution. The first aim of this work was to reproduce the characteristic cortical pattern previously observed in vivo in AD patients using weighted-imaging at 7T. We extended these findings using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and quantification of the effective transverse relaxation rate (R2*) at 9.4T. The second aim was to investigate the origin of the contrast patterns observed in vivo in the cortex of AD patients at 9.4T by comparing quantitative UHF-MRI (9.4T and 14.1T) of postmortem samples with histology. We observed a distinctive cortical pattern in vivo in patients compared to healthy controls (HC), and these findings were confirmed ex vivo. Specifically, we found a close link between the signal changes detected by QSM in the AD sample at 14.1T and the distribution pattern of amyloid plaques in the histological sections of the same specimen. Our findings showed that QSM and R2* maps can distinguish AD from HC at UHF by detecting cortical alterations directly related to amyloid plaques in AD patients. Furthermore, we provided a method to quantify amyloid plaque load in AD patients at UHF non-invasively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Tuzzi
- Department for High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
| | - David Z Balla
- Department for Physiology of Cognitive Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Joana R A Loureiro
- Department for High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.,Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Manuela Neumann
- Department of Neuropathology, University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Laske
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Tübingen, Germany.,Section for Dementia Research, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rolf Pohmann
- Department for High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Preische
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Tübingen, Germany.,Section for Dementia Research, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- Department for High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gisela E Hagberg
- Department for High Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
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18
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Kim JH, Dodd S, Ye FQ, Knutsen AK, Nguyen D, Wu H, Su S, Mastrogiacomo S, Esparza TJ, Swenson RE, Brody DL. Sensitive detection of extremely small iron oxide nanoparticles in living mice using MP2RAGE with advanced image co-registration. Sci Rep 2021; 11:106. [PMID: 33420210 PMCID: PMC7794370 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80181-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used non-invasive methodology for both preclinical and clinical studies. However, MRI lacks molecular specificity. Molecular contrast agents for MRI would be highly beneficial for detecting specific pathological lesions and quantitatively evaluating therapeutic efficacy in vivo. In this study, an optimized Magnetization Prepared—RApid Gradient Echo (MP-RAGE) with 2 inversion times called MP2RAGE combined with advanced image co-registration is presented as an effective non-invasive methodology to quantitatively detect T1 MR contrast agents. The optimized MP2RAGE produced high quality in vivo mouse brain T1 (or R1 = 1/T1) map with high spatial resolution, 160 × 160 × 160 µm3 voxel at 9.4 T. Test–retest signal to noise was > 20 for most voxels. Extremely small iron oxide nanoparticles (ESIONPs) having 3 nm core size and 11 nm hydrodynamic radius after polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating were intracranially injected into mouse brain and detected as a proof-of-concept. Two independent MP2RAGE MR scans were performed pre- and post-injection of ESIONPs followed by advanced image co-registration. The comparison of two T1 (or R1) maps after image co-registration provided precise and quantitative assessment of the effects of the injected ESIONPs at each voxel. The proposed MR protocol has potential for future use in the detection of T1 molecular contrast agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joong H Kim
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Stephen Dodd
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Frank Q Ye
- Neurophysiology Imaging Facility, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrew K Knutsen
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Duong Nguyen
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Haitao Wu
- Chemistry and Synthesis Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Shiran Su
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Simone Mastrogiacomo
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Thomas J Esparza
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Rolf E Swenson
- Chemistry and Synthesis Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - David L Brody
- Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA. .,Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. .,Department of Neurology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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19
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Truong P, Kim JH, Savjani R, Sitek KR, Hagberg GE, Scheffler K, Ress D. Depth relationships and measures of tissue thickness in dorsal midbrain. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:5083-5096. [PMID: 32870572 PMCID: PMC7670631 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dorsal human midbrain contains two nuclei with clear laminar organization, the superior and inferior colliculi. These nuclei extend in depth between the superficial dorsal surface of midbrain and a deep midbrain nucleus, the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG). The PAG, in turn, surrounds the cerebral aqueduct (CA). This study examined the use of two depth metrics to characterize depth and thickness relationships within dorsal midbrain using the superficial surface of midbrain and CA as references. The first utilized nearest-neighbor Euclidean distance from one reference surface, while the second used a level-set approach that combines signed distances from both reference surfaces. Both depth methods provided similar functional depth profiles generated by saccadic eye movements in a functional MRI task, confirming their efficacy for delineating depth for superficial functional activity. Next, the boundaries of the PAG were estimated using Euclidean distance together with elliptical fitting, indicating that the PAG can be readily characterized by a smooth surface surrounding PAG. Finally, we used the level-set approach to measure tissue depth between the superficial surface and the PAG, thus characterizing the variable thickness of the colliculi. Overall, this study demonstrates depth-mapping schemes for human midbrain that enables accurate segmentation of the PAG and consistent depth and thickness estimates of the superior and inferior colliculi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Truong
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUSA
- Department of NeuroscienceRice UniversityHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Jung Hwan Kim
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Ricky Savjani
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUSA
- Department of Radiation OncologyUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kevin R. Sitek
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Gisela E. Hagberg
- High Field Magnetic ResonanceMax Planck Institute for Biological CyberneticsTübingenGermany
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic ResonanceEberhard Karl's University of Tübingen and University HospitalTübingenGermany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- High Field Magnetic ResonanceMax Planck Institute for Biological CyberneticsTübingenGermany
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic ResonanceEberhard Karl's University of Tübingen and University HospitalTübingenGermany
| | - David Ress
- Department of NeuroscienceBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUSA
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20
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Eye-selective fMRI activity in human primary visual cortex: Comparison between 3 T and 9.4 T, and effects across cortical depth. Neuroimage 2020; 220:117078. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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21
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Murali-Manohar S, Wright AM, Borbath T, Avdievich NI, Henning A. A novel method to measure T 1 -relaxation times of macromolecules and quantification of the macromolecular resonances. Magn Reson Med 2020; 85:601-614. [PMID: 32864826 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Macromolecular peaks underlying metabolite spectra influence the quantification of metabolites. Therefore, it is important to understand the extent of contribution from macromolecules (MMs) in metabolite quantification. However, to model MMs more accurately in spectral fitting, differences in T1 relaxation times among individual MM peaks must be considered. Characterization of T1 -relaxation times for all individual MM peaks using a single inversion recovery technique is difficult due to eventual contributions from metabolites. On the contrary, a double inversion recovery (DIR) technique provided flexibility to acquire MM spectra spanning a range of longitudinal magnetizations with minimal metabolite influence. Thus, a novel method to determine T1 -relaxation times of individual MM peaks is reported in this work. METHODS Extensive Bloch simulations were performed to determine inversion time combinations for a DIR technique that yielded adequate MM signal with varying longitudinal magnetizations while minimizing metabolite contributions. MM spectra were acquired using DIR-metabolite-cycled semi-LASER sequence. LCModel concentrations were fitted to the DIR signal equation to calculate T1 -relaxation times. RESULTS T1 -relaxation times of MMs range from 204 to 510 ms and 253 to 564 ms in gray- and white-matter rich voxels respectively at 9.4T. Additionally, concentrations of 13 MM peaks are reported. CONCLUSION A novel DIR method is reported in this work to calculate T1 -relaxation times of MMs in the human brain. T1 -relaxation times and relaxation time corrected concentrations of individual MMs are reported in gray- and white-matter rich voxels for the first time at 9.4T.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saipavitra Murali-Manohar
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andrew Martin Wright
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,IMPRS for Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tamas Borbath
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nikolai I Avdievich
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
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22
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Borbath T, Murali-Manohar S, Wright AM, Henning A. In vivo characterization of downfield peaks at 9.4 T: T 2 relaxation times, quantification, pH estimation, and assignments. Magn Reson Med 2020; 85:587-600. [PMID: 32783249 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Relaxation times are a valuable asset when determining spectral assignments. In this study, apparent T2 relaxation times ( T 2 app ) of downfield peaks are reported in the human brain at 9.4 T and are used to guide spectral assignments of some downfield metabolite peaks. METHODS Echo time series of downfield metabolite spectra were acquired at 9.4 T using a metabolite-cycled semi-LASER sequence. Metabolite spectral fitting was performed using LCModel V6.3-1L while fitting a pH sweep to estimate the pH of the homocarnosine (hCs) imidazole ring. T 2 app were calculated by fitting the resulting relative amplitudes of the peaks to a mono-exponential decay across the TE series. Furthermore, estimated tissue concentrations of molecules were calculated using the relaxation times and internal water as a reference. RESULTS T 2 app of downfield metabolites are reported within a range from 16 to 32 ms except for homocarnosine with T 2 app of 50 ms. Correcting T 2 app for exchange rates ( T 2 c o r r ) resulted in relaxation times between 20 and 33 ms. The estimated pH values based on hCs imidazole range from 7.07 to 7.12 between subjects. Furthermore, analyzing the linewidths of the downfield peaks and their T 2 app contribution led to possible peak assignments. CONCLUSION T 2 app relaxation times were longer for the assigned metabolite peaks compared to the unassigned peaks. Tissue pH estimation in vivo with proton MRS and simultaneous quantification of amide protons at 8.30 ± 0.15 ppm is likely possible. Based on concentration, linewidth, and exchange rates measurements, tentative peak assignments are discussed for adenosine triphosphate (ATP), N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), and urea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamas Borbath
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Saipavitra Murali-Manohar
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andrew Martin Wright
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,IMPRS for Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
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23
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Bause J, Polimeni JR, Stelzer J, In MH, Ehses P, Kraemer-Fernandez P, Aghaeifar A, Lacosse E, Pohmann R, Scheffler K. Impact of prospective motion correction, distortion correction methods and large vein bias on the spatial accuracy of cortical laminar fMRI at 9.4 Tesla. Neuroimage 2020; 208:116434. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
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24
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Faller TL, Trotier AJ, Rousseau AF, Franconi JM, Miraux S, Ribot EJ. 2D multislice MP2RAGE sequence for fast T 1 mapping at 7 T: Application to mouse imaging and MR thermometry. Magn Reson Med 2020; 84:1430-1440. [PMID: 32083341 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a 2D radial multislice MP2RAGE sequence for fast and reliable T1 mapping at 7 T in mice and for MR thermometry. METHODS The 2D-MP2RAGE sequence was performed with the following parameters: TI1 -TI2 -MP2RAGETR = 1000-3000-9000 ms. The multiple dead times within the sequence were used for interleaved multislice acquisition, enabling one to acquire six slices in 9 seconds. The excitation pulse shape, inversion selectivity, and interslice gap were optimized. In vitro comparison with the inversion-recovery sequence was performed. The T1 variations with temperature were measured on tubes with T1 ranging from 800 ms to 2000 ms. The sequence was used to acquire T1 maps continuously during 30 minutes on the brain and abdomen of healthy mice. RESULTS A three-lobe cardinal sine excitation pulse, combined with an inversion slice thickness and an interslice gap of respectively 150% and 50% of the imaging slice thickness, led to a SD and bias of the T1 measurements below 1% and 2%, respectively. A linear dependence of T1 with temperature was measured between 10°C and 60°C. In vivo, less than 1% variation was measured between successive T1 maps in the mouse brain. In the abdomen, no obvious in-plane motion artifacts were observed but respiratory motion in the slice dimension led to 6% T1 underestimation. CONCLUSION The multislice MP2RAGE sequence could be used for fast whole-body T1 mapping and MR thermometry. Its reconstruction method would enable on-the-fly reconstruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaut L Faller
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Aurélien J Trotier
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Alice F Rousseau
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Jean-Michel Franconi
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Sylvain Miraux
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Emeline J Ribot
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, UMR 5536, CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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25
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Murali‐Manohar S, Borbath T, Wright AM, Soher B, Mekle R, Henning A. T
2
relaxation times of macromolecules and metabolites in the human brain at 9.4 T. Magn Reson Med 2020; 84:542-558. [DOI: 10.1002/mrm.28174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Saipavitra Murali‐Manohar
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Faculty of Science University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Tamas Borbath
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Faculty of Science University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Andrew Martin Wright
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- IMPRS for Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience Tübingen Germany
| | - Brian Soher
- Radiology Duke University Medical Center Durham North Carolina
| | - Ralf Mekle
- Center for Stroke Research Berlin (CSB) Charité ‐ Universitätsmedizin Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Advanced Imaging Research Center UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas Texas
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26
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Anterior fissure, central canal, posterior septum and more: New insights into the cervical spinal cord gray and white matter regional organization using T1 mapping at 7T. Neuroimage 2020; 205:116275. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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27
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Avdievich NI, Giapitzakis IA, Bause J, Shajan G, Scheffler K, Henning A. Double-row 18-loop transceive-32-loop receive tight-fit array provides for whole-brain coverage, high transmit performance, and SNR improvement near the brain center at 9.4T. Magn Reson Med 2018; 81:3392-3405. [PMID: 30506725 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To improve the transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) performance of a human head array and provide whole-brain coverage at 9.4T, a novel 32-element array design was developed, constructed, and tested. METHODS The array consists of 18 transceiver (TxRx) surface loops and 14 Rx-only vertical loops all placed in a single layer. The new design combines benefits of both TxRx and transmit-only-receive-only (ToRo) designs. The general idea of the design is that the total number of array elements (both TxRx and Rx) should not exceed the number of required Rx elements. First, the necessary number of TxRx loops is placed around the object tightly to optimize the Tx performance. The rest of the elements are loops, which are used only for reception. We also compared the performance of the new array with that of a state-of-the-art ToRo array consisting of 16 Tx-only loops and 31 Rx-only loops. RESULTS The new array provides whole-brain coverage, ~1.5 times greater Tx efficiency and 1.3 times higher SNR near the brain center as compared to the ToRo array, while the latter delivers higher (up to 1.5 times) peripheral SNR. CONCLUSION In general, the new approach of constructing a single-layer array consisting of both TxRx- and Rx-only elements simplifies the array construction by minimizing the total number of elements and makes the entire design more robust and, therefore, safe. Overall, our work provides a recipe for a Tx- and Rx-efficient head array coil suitable for parallel transmission and reception as well as whole-brain imaging at UHF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolai I Avdievich
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ioannis-Angelos Giapitzakis
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Graduate School of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Bause
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Graduate School of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gunamony Shajan
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field MR Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
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28
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Giapitzakis I, Borbath T, Murali‐Manohar S, Avdievich N, Henning A. Investigation of the influence of macromolecules and spline baseline in the fitting model of human brain spectra at 9.4T. Magn Reson Med 2018; 81:746-758. [DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Revised: 06/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis‐Angelos Giapitzakis
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Tübingen Germany
| | - Tamas Borbath
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Faculty of Science University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Saipavitra Murali‐Manohar
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Faculty of Science University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Nikolai Avdievich
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Institute of Physics University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High‐Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen Germany
- Institute of Physics University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
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29
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Trotier AJ, Rapacchi S, Faller TL, Miraux S, Ribot EJ. Compressed-Sensing MP2RAGE sequence: Application to the detection of brain metastases in mice at 7T. Magn Reson Med 2018; 81:551-559. [PMID: 30198115 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To develop a Compressed Sensing (CS)-MP2RAGE sequence to drastically shorten acquisition duration and then detect and measure the T1 of brain metastases in mice at 7 T. METHODS The encoding trajectory of the standard Cartesian MP2RAGE sequence has been modified (1) to obtain a variable density Poisson disk under-sampling distribution along the ky -kz plane, and (2) to sample the central part of the k-space exactly at TI1 and TI2 inversion times. In a prospective study, the accuracy of the T1 measurements was evaluated on phantoms containing increasing concentrations of gadolinium. The CS acceleration factors were increased to evaluate their influence on the contrast and T1 measurements of brain metastases in vivo. Finally, the 3D T1 maps were acquired with at 4-fold increased spatial resolution. The volumes and T1 values of the metastases were measured while using CS to reduce scan time. RESULTS The implementation of the CS-encoding trajectory did not affect the T1 measurements in vitro. Accelerating the acquisition by a factor of 2 did not alter the contrast or the T1 values of the brain metastases. 3D T1 maps could be obtained in < 1 min using a CS factor of 6. Increasing the spatial resolution enabled more accurately measurement of the metastasis volumes while maintaining an acquisition duration below 5 min. CONCLUSION The CS-MP2RAGE sequence could be of great interest in oncology to either rapidly obtain mouse brain 3D T1 maps or to increase the spatial resolution with no penalty on the scan duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien J Trotier
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, CNRS-University Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Thibaut L Faller
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, CNRS-University Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Sylvain Miraux
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, CNRS-University Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Emeline J Ribot
- Centre de Résonance Magnétique des Systèmes Biologiques, CNRS-University Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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30
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Eschelbach M, Aghaeifar A, Bause J, Handwerker J, Anders J, Engel EM, Thielscher A, Scheffler K. Comparison of prospective head motion correction with NMR field probes and an optical tracking system. Magn Reson Med 2018; 81:719-729. [PMID: 30058220 DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study was to compare prospective head motion correction and motion tracking abilities of two tracking systems: Active NMR field probes and a Moiré phase tracking camera system using an optical marker. METHODS Both tracking systems were used simultaneously on human subjects. The prospective head motion correction was compared in an MP2RAGE and a gradient echo sequence. In addition, the motion tracking trajectories for three subjects were compared against each other and their correlation and deviations were analyzed. RESULTS With both tracking systems motion artifacts were visibly reduced. The precision of the field probe system was on the order of 50 µm for translations and 0.03° for rotations while the camera's was approximately 5 µm and 0.007°. The comparison of the measured trajectories showed close correlation and an average absolute deviation below 500 µm and 0.5°. CONCLUSION This study presents the first in vivo comparison between NMR field probes and Moiré phase tracking. For the gradient echo images, the field probes had a similar motion correction performance as the optical tracking system. For the MP2RAGE measurement, however, the camera yielded better results. Still, both tracking systems substantially decreased image artifacts in the presence of subject motion. Thus, the motion tracking modality should be chosen according to the specific requirements of the experiment while considering the desired image resolution, refresh rate, and head coil constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ali Aghaeifar
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Bause
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Handwerker
- Institute of Microelectronics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Smart Sensors, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Jens Anders
- Institute of Microelectronics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.,Institute of Smart Sensors, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Eva-Maria Engel
- Department of Prosthodontics, Center of Dentistry, Oral Medicine, and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Axel Thielscher
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany.,Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.,DRCMR, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany.,Department for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
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31
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Loureiro JR, Himmelbach M, Ethofer T, Pohmann R, Martin P, Bause J, Grodd W, Scheffler K, Hagberg GE. In-vivo quantitative structural imaging of the human midbrain and the superior colliculus at 9.4T. Neuroimage 2018; 177:117-128. [PMID: 29729391 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.04.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We explored anatomical details of the superior colliculus (SC) by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 9.4T. The high signal-to-noise ratio allowed the acquisition of high resolution, multi-modal images with voxel sizes ranging between 176 × 132 × 600 μm and (800)3μm. Quantitative mapping of the longitudinal relaxation rate R1, the effective transverse relaxation rate R2*, and the magnetic susceptibility QSM was performed in 14 healthy volunteers. The images were analyzed in native space as well as after normalization to a common brain space (MNI). The coefficient-of-variation (CoV) across subjects was evaluated in prominent regions of the midbrain, reaching the best reproducibility (CoV of 5%) in the R2* maps of the SC in MNI space, while the CoV in the QSM maps remained high regardless of brain-space. To investigate whether more complex neurobiological architectural features could be detected, depth profiles through the SC layers towards the red nucleus (RN) were evaluated at different levels of the SC along the rostro-caudal axis. This analysis revealed alterations of the quantitative MRI parameters concordant with previous post mortem histology studies of the cyto- and myeloarchitecture of the SC. In general, the R1 maps were hyperintense in areas characterized by the presence of abundant myelinated fibers, and likely enabled detection of the deep white layer VII of the SC adjacent to the periaqueductal gray. While R1 maps failed to reveal finer details, possibly due to the relatively coarse spatial sampling used for this modality, these could be recovered in R2* maps and in QSM. In the central part of the SC along its rostro-caudal axis, increased R2* values and decreased susceptibility values were observed 2 mm below the SC surface, likely reflecting the myelinated fibers in the superficial optic layer (layer III). Towards the deeper layers, a second increase in R2* was paralleled by a paramagnetic shift in QSM suggesting the presence of an iron-rich layer about 3 mm below the surface of the SC, attributed to the intermediate gray layer (IV) composed of multipolar neurons. These results dovetail observations in histological specimens and animal studies and demonstrate that high-resolution multi-modal MRI at 9.4T can reveal several microstructural features of the SC in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana R Loureiro
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital Tübingen, Germany; Division of Neuropsychology, Centre for Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Germany; Centre for Integrative Neurosciences, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marc Himmelbach
- Division of Neuropsychology, Centre for Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Germany
| | - Thomas Ethofer
- Institute for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital Tübingen, Germany; Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital Tübingen, Germany; Centre for Integrative Neurosciences, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rolf Pohmann
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Pascal Martin
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Bause
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Grodd
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital Tübingen, Germany; Centre for Integrative Neurosciences, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gisela E Hagberg
- High Field Magnetic Resonance Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; Institute for Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karl's University, Tübingen and University Hospital Tübingen, Germany.
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Giapitzakis IA, Avdievich N, Henning A. Characterization of macromolecular baseline of human brain using metabolite cycled semi-LASER at 9.4T. Magn Reson Med 2018; 80:462-473. [DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Revised: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis-Angelos Giapitzakis
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics; Tübingen Germany
- IMPRS for Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience; Tübingen Germany
| | - Nikolai Avdievich
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics; Tübingen Germany
- Institute of Physics; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
| | - Anke Henning
- High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics; Tübingen Germany
- Institute of Physics; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
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Palaniyappan L, Das T, Dempster K. The neurobiology of transition to psychosis: clearing the cache. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2017; 42:294-299. [PMID: 28834527 PMCID: PMC5573571 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.170137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The prepsychotic phase of schizophrenia is not only important for indicated prevention strategies, but also crucial for developing mechanistic models of the emergence of frank psychosis (transition). This commentary highlights the work of Dukart and colleagues, published in this issue of the Journal of Psychiatry and Neurosicence, who sought to identify MRI-based anatomic endophenotypes of psychosis in a well-characterized sample of patients with at-risk mental state (ARMS) and first-episode psychosis (FEP). Conceptual and translational challenges in clarifying the neurobiology of transitional prepsychotic states are discussed. A role of intracortical myelin in the neurobiology of transition is proposed. Transition may not be an outcome of "progressive structural deficits"; it may occur due to inadequate compensatory responses in the predisposed. The need to revise our current "deficit-oriented" models of neurobiology of psychosis in the wake of burgeoning evidence indicating a dynamic process of cortical reorganization is emphasized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Palaniyappan
- Correspondence to: L. Palaniyappan, Prevention & Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP), A2-636, LHSC-VH, 800 Commissioners Road, London, Ont., Canada N6A 5W9;
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