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Kwon HJ, Shim WH, Cho G, Cho HJ, Jung HS, Lee CK, Lee YS, Baek JH, Kim EJ, Suh JY, Sung YS, Woo DC, Kim YR, Kim JK. Simultaneous evaluation of vascular morphology, blood volume and transvascular permeability using SPION-based, dual-contrast MRI: imaging optimization and feasibility test. NMR Biomed 2015; 28:624-632. [PMID: 25865029 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.3293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Revised: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Exploiting ultrashort-T(E) (UTE) MRI, T1-weighted positive contrast can be obtained from superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), which are widely used as a robust T2-weighted, negative contrast agent on conventional MR images. Our study was designed (a) to optimize the dual-contrast MRI method using SPIONs and (b) to validate the feasibility of simultaneously evaluating the vascular morphology, blood volume and transvascular permeability using the dual-contrast effect of SPIONs. All studies were conducted using 3 T MRI. According to numerical simulation, 0.15 mM was the optimal blood SPION concentration for visualizing the positive contrast effect using UTE MRI (T(E) = 0.09 ms), and a flip angle of 40° could provide sufficient SPION-induced enhancement and acceptable measurement noise for UTE MR angiography. A pharmacokinetic study showed that this concentration can be steadily maintained from 30 to 360 min after the injection of 29 mg/kg of SPIONs. An in vivo study using these settings displayed image quality and CNR of SPION-enhanced UTE MR angiography (image quality score 3.5; CNR 146) comparable to those of the conventional, Gd-enhanced method (image quality score 3.8; CNR 148) (p > 0.05). Using dual-contrast MR images obtained from SPION-enhanced UTE and conventional spin- and gradient-echo methods, the transvascular permeability (water exchange index 1.76-1.77), cerebral blood volume (2.58-2.60%) and vessel caliber index (3.06-3.10) could be consistently quantified (coefficient of variation less than 9.6%; Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement 0.886-1.111) and were similar to the literature values. Therefore, using the optimized setting of combined SPION-based MRI techniques, the vascular morphology, blood volume and transvascular permeability can be comprehensively evaluated during a single session of MR examination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heon-Ju Kwon
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Radiology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Woo Hyun Shim
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Gyunggoo Cho
- Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon, Chungbuk, South Korea
| | - Hyung Joon Cho
- Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea
| | - Hoe Su Jung
- Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea
| | - Chang Kyung Lee
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
- Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon, Chungbuk, South Korea
| | - Yong Seok Lee
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
- Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon, Chungbuk, South Korea
| | - Jin Hee Baek
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
- Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon, Chungbuk, South Korea
| | | | - Ji-Yeon Suh
- Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon, Chungbuk, South Korea
| | - Yu Sub Sung
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Dong-Cheol Woo
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Young Ro Kim
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jeong Kon Kim
- Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
- Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon, Chungbuk, South Korea
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