University of Sussex
Browse
Battiston_et_al-2017-Magnetic_Resonance_in_Medicine.pdf (721.48 kB)

An optimized framework for quantitative magnetization transfer imaging of the cervical spinal cord in vivo

Download (721.48 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 08:09 authored by Marco Battiston, Francesco Grussu, Andrada Ianus, Torben Schneider, Ferran Prados, James Fairney, Sebastien Ourselin, Daniel C Alexander, Mara Cercignani, Claudia A M Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott, Rebecca S Samson
Purpose To develop a framework to fully characterize quantitative magnetization transfer indices in the human cervical cord in vivo within a clinically feasible time. Methods A dedicated spinal cord imaging protocol for quantitative magnetization transfer was developed using a reduced field-of-view approach with echo planar imaging (EPI) readout. Sequence parameters were optimized based in the Cramer-Rao-lower bound. Quantitative model parameters (i.e., bound pool fraction, free and bound pool transverse relaxation times [ math formula, math formula], and forward exchange rate [kFB]) were estimated implementing a numerical model capable of dealing with the novelties of the sequence adopted. The framework was tested on five healthy subjects. Results Cramer-Rao-lower bound minimization produces optimal sampling schemes without requiring the establishment of a steady-state MT effect. The proposed framework allows quantitative voxel-wise estimation of model parameters at the resolution typically used for spinal cord imaging (i.e. 0.75?×?0.75?×?5?mm3), with a protocol duration of ~35?min. Quantitative magnetization transfer parametric maps agree with literature values. Whole-cord mean values are: bound pool fraction?=?0.11(±0.01), math formula?= 46.5(±1.6) ms, math formula?=?11.0(±0.2) µs, and kFB?=?1.95(±0.06) Hz. Protocol optimization has a beneficial effect on reproducibility, especially for math formula and kFB. Conclusion The framework developed enables robust characterization of spinal cord microstructure in vivo using qMT. Magn Reson Med, 2017. © 2017 The Authors Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

ISSN

1522-2594

Publisher

Wiley-Liss

Issue

5

Volume

79

Page range

2576-2588

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-10-02

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2017-10-02

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-10-02

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC