Ross William Mair^1,2, Thomas Benner², Bruce Fischl^2,3, Betsy Hemphill^1,2, Marisa Hollinshead^1,2, Andre J W van der Kouwe², and Randy L Buckner^1,2
1Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States, ²Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, ³Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States

We have implemented an extremely rapid 2-minute multi-echo MPRAGE protocol for anatomical scans in a large human imaging study with thousands of subjects. Using this protocol, we performed a brief multi-site and repeatability trial, including investigation of an upgrade to the system software for the Siemens Tim Trio scanner. The correlation of volumes determined from the rapid multi-echo MPRAGE data acquired at different sites on different days and under different software versions are extremely high, and compare with those obtained previously from standard MPRAGE or multi-echo FLASH, with R² correlations > 0.95 for most sub-cortical and white matter structures.

Hsiao-Ying Wey^1,2, Sunil K Valaparla^1,2, and Timothy Q. Duong^1,2
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, ²Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States

This study described the development of a novel magneto-driven, MRI-compatible, vibrotactile stimulator. We implemented high-resolution fMRI studies with 1 mm isotropic resolution to map finger somatotopy. In addition, a frequency-response curve for the flatter tactile sensation (5-50 Hz) was explored while investigating vibration sensation is also possible. This study established a simple device and high-resolution protocol for future neuroscience applications exploring the somatosensory system with sophisticated experimental design.

Christopher Joseph Wargo^1,2, and John Christopher Gore^1,2
1Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States

In this abstract, we present the combination of SENSE, Zoom Inner Volume Imaging (IVI), and a multi-shot EPI spin echo sequence to rapidly achieve 160 to 350 μm resolutions for targeted imaging of a variety of in vivo human brain regions, with 46 to 429 fold accelerations achieved in multi-slice and 3D volume images, and scan times between three to six minutes. Areas targeted included the midbrain, cortex, thalamus, lentiform, hippocampus, and corpus callosum with visible gray and white matter contrast, small blood vessel identification, and substructure localization within each region.

Marcel Weiss¹, Gabriele Lohmann¹, Gerik Scheuermann², and Robert Turner^1
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, ²Institute of Computer Science, University of Leipzig

Initial results of a semi-automated method for cortical parcellation are presented. Intra-cortical variations in laminar contrast of 7T MRI data are analysed to identify primary visual cortex/BA17 observer-independent.

Marcel Weiss¹, Stefan Geyer¹, Gabriele Lohmann¹, Robert Trampel¹, and Robert Turner^1
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany

Quantitativ T1 correspondes well with the presence or absence of myelin with in the human brain. We show how mapping T1 with the MP2RAGE sequence provides data of a quality suitable for identification of major primary functional areas on the basis of their structure in-vivo.

Wei Bian^1,2, Kathryn Hammond Rosenbluth³, Sarah J Nelson^2,4, and Janine M Lupo^2
1Joint Graduate Program in BioEngineering at UCSF & UCB, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ³Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ⁴Department of BioEngineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) and phase imaging can be generated from the same T2*-weighted gradient echo sequence. However, at 7T, the imaging parameters for both techniques have been developed separately. The goal of this study was to optimize a gradient-echo acquisition for magnitude, phase, and SWI in order to determine which acquisition yields the best contrast and when it is most appropriate to use each image modality. A 2D GRE sequence with an echo time between 12-15 ms was determined to be optimal. Phase imaging had the best contrast for depicting the boundary between gray and white matter, while SWI images were best for visualizing vasculature.

Zhongwei Zhang¹, Jens H Jensen¹, Lin Tang¹, Yudong Zhu¹, and Yulin Ge^1
1Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States

Ultra-high-field strength MR has provided sophisticated imaging capability to improve the fundamental quantities underlying image resolution and contrast. This includes significantly increased susceptibility sensitivity to gray matter iron deposition. It’s a worthwhile goal to acquire T2* mapping and phase mapping with high resolution because both types of information have the potential to assess iron content. The aim of this study was to investigate quantitative T2* measurements and phase information of in-vivo human brains using 3D multiple in-phase echo susceptibility-weighted MR Imaging (3D MIPE-SWI) at 7.0T. In addition, the feasibility of obtaining other quantitative informations was also explored.

Andreas Deistung¹, Juliane Budde², Ferdinand Schweser¹, Jens Hoffmann², Rolf Pohmann², and Jürgen R Reichenbach^1
1Medical Physics Group, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology I, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany, ²Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany

This contribution presents a new reconstruction technique for combining multi-channel phase images based on a dual-echo GRE acquisition. The method is applied to multichannel GRE data acquired at 9.4T with 0.4 mm isotropic spatial resolution. SHARP-processed phase images and quantitative susceptibility maps showing sections of the cerebral cortex of the occipital and temporal lobe were presented. The susceptibility contrast is, contrary to the phase contrast, local and depicts the underlying anatomy directly. Susceptibility maps varied across the cortical thickness suggesting a layer-specific contrast. Furthermore, the magnetic susceptibility of gray matter varied depending on the cortical region.

Pascal Sati¹, David M Thomasson², Nadia M Biassou², Daniel Salo Reich^1,2, and John A Butman^2
1Translational Neuroradiology Unit, Neuroimmunology Branch, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States, ²Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) is an MR technique that utilizes the magnetic susceptibility differences between tissues to highlight small vessels and veins, iron deposition, and calcification in the brain. Here, we tested a flow-compensated 3D segmented-EPI acquisition for SWI applications. While significantly reducing the scanning time as compared to standard gradient-echo acquisition (53sec for segmented-EPI vs. 7min 15sec for GRE), the segmented-EPI acquisition maintains high resolution and depicts similar brain vasculature. Although minimal distortions exist in the segmented-EPI images, they do not appear to diminish the usefulness of this ultra-fast imaging technique in a clinical setting.

Christophe Lenglet¹, Aviva Abosch², Essa Yacoub¹, Guillermo Sapiro³, and Noam Harel^1
1Department of Radiology - CMRR, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ²Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN,³Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States

Utilizing the advantages of high-field MRI (7T), we present an imaging protocol and analysis pipeline to create a comprehensive 3D model of the basal ganglia/thalamus structure and connectivity patterns. We successfully reconstruct major pathways of the basal ganglia circuits and quantify the probability of these connections.

Anna Izabella Blazejewska¹, Samuel Wharton¹, Alain Pitoit², Ashley Kempf¹, Stefan Schwarz³, James Lowe⁴, Dorothee P. Auer³, Richard Bowtell¹, and Penny A. Gowland^1
1Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ²School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, ³Division of Academic Radiology, University of Nottingham, ⁴Division of Pathology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

The relationship between the appearance of substantia nigra (SN) on histology anatomy and MRI remains unclear. We show that high-resolution MR images acquired both post mortem and in vivo, may allow the identification of nigrosome-like structures in the SN pars compacta, which have not previously been reported in MR data, but which have been found in a histology study using immunostaining. We also prove that susceptibility maps correlate with the Perl's stain histology and can be used to identify the iron rich SN as well as to examine the levels of iron content in different parts of the SN.

Barbara Strotmann¹, Marcel Weiss¹, Carsten Kögler¹, Andreas Schäfer¹, Robert Trampel¹, Stefan Geyer¹, Arno Villringer¹, and Robert Turner^1
1Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

The habenula has an important controlling role within the reward system. Overactivation is associated with depression. The habenula is positioned next to the third ventricle and is 5-9 mm in diameter. Therefore, we made use of a high field strength of 7T to obtain high resolution and high contrast T1, T2* und proton density maps to visualize habenula in-vivo and ex-vivo: human habenula shows up equally clearly in T1 and T2* maps, thus likely to be characterized by a high concentration of both myelin and iron. We found structural subdivisions ex-vivo: lateral and medial habenula, with their commissure.

Barbara Strotmann¹, Alfred Anwander¹, Robin Heidemann¹, Eugenia Solano-Castiella¹, Arno Villringer¹, and Robert Turner^1
1Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

The habenula has an important controlling role within the reward system. Overactivation is associated with depression. The habenula is positioned next to the third ventricle and is 5-9 mm in diameter. The combination of zoomed imaging with parallel imaging – ZOOPPA enables DWI acquisitions with 1 mm isotropic resolution at 7T. The data show distinct nuclei of the human habenula in vivo. We identified lateral and medial nuclei with their connecting fibre bundles to the forebrain and the brainstem. The nuclei are clearly visible on the quantitative T1 map. with a high myelinisation of the LHB and the HBC. Further study of the habenular subdivisions and their role in brain function is likely to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of a wide range of neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

Fernando Calamante^1,2, Se-Hong Oh³, Jacques-Donald Tournier^1,2, Sung-Yeon Park³, Jun-Young Chung³, Young-Don Son³, Je-Geun Chi³, Graeme D Jackson^1,2, Young-Bo Kim³, Alan Connelly^1,2, and Zang-Hee Cho^3
1Brain Research Institute, Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia, ²Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ³Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Korea, Republic of

Accurate identification of sub-thalamic nuclei is of huge importance for many clinical applications, particularly those involving deep brain stimulation; however, this is not easily achieved with clinical MRI scanners. While this is now possible at ultra-high field MRI, access to this technology remains limited. The technique of super-resolution track-density imaging (TDI) has been shown to create images with very high resolution and anatomical contrast, based on the results from whole-brain fibre-tracking. In this study, we assess the role of TDI for direct visualisation of sub-thalamic nuclei and compare the results to those obtained using T1-weighted MRI at 7T.

Emi Takahashi¹, Rebecca D Folkerth², and P. Ellen Grant^1
1Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States, ²Brigham and Women's Hospital

During the fetal period, the most prominent transient layer is the subplate (SP) zone, located between the immature cortex (cortical plate; CP) and the immature white matter (intermediate zone; IZ), which contains numerous crossroads. Resolving accurate pathways running through the unmyelinated subcortical areas is critical to image the entire length of fiber pathways in the developing brain. Here, we applied high-angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) tractography to intact whole postmortem fetal human brains. Our results show the usefulness of HARDI tractography, irrespective of the degree of myelination, for providing 3-dimensional information on developing cortical structure and connectivity.

Christoph Wolfram Ulrich Leuze¹, Bibek Dhital¹, Alfred Anwander¹, Andre Pampel¹, Robin Heidemann¹, Stefan Geyer¹, Marcel Gratz², and Robert Turner^1
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany, ²Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) at high spatial and angular resolution was performed at 9.4T on a block of fixed human cadaver brain tissue containing visual cortex. Analysis of the principal eigenvector orientations allowed visualization of several layers within the primary visual cortex V1. No clearly preferred diffusion direction could be measured inside the stria of Gennari (SoG), consistent with its high content of transverse myelinated intracortical axons. In surrounding layers the orientational structure was predominantly radial. The low orientational anisotropy of the SoG terminates at the V1/V2 boundary, allowing easy visualization of this boundary using diffusion data alone.

Gunther Helms¹, Walter J Schulz-Schaeffer², Arne Wrede², Niels K Focke³, and Peter Dechent^1
1MR-Research in Neurology and Psychiatry, Universitymedicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, ²Neuropathology, Universitymedicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, ³Clinical Neurophysiology, Universitymedicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

For post mortem MRI of the human head at 3T, a quantitative FLASH-based protocol was established yielding parameter maps of T1, R2*=1/T2*, magnetization transfer (MT) and signal amplitude at 0.65mm isotropic resolution in about 2 hours. Major post mortem changes were rapid T2*-relaxation in vessels and progressive loss of T1-contrast at low temperature, hampering standard T1w MRI. At room temperature, MT saturation maps showed a high unchanged contrast in brain independent of altered T1 and T2*, while the MT ratio was reduced. In cooled brains, the MT contrast was slightly reduced and R2* was enhanced in the deep brain nuclei.

Gunther Helms¹, Katrin Brunnquell¹, Arne Wrede², Walter J Schulz-Schaeffer², and Peter Dechent^1
1MR-Research in Neurology and Psychiatry, Universitymedicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany, ²Neuropathology, Universitymedicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

A method for 3D gradient echo MRI of fixated human brains at 0.5 mm isotropic resolution is presented. Averaging the signals of 8 alternating echoes at TE = 2.46 to 19.68 ms increases the SNR and, by mild T2*-weighting, imposes a sensitivity to vessels and micro-bleedings. Magnetization transfer increases the contrast between gray and white matter. Measurement time is 35 min with an 8-channel receive array, 140 mins with a knee coil. Susceptibility effects are reduced by a bandwidth of 500 Hz/pixel. Structural details of fronto-basal and deep brain nuclei are visualized, while cortical substructures are at the resolution limit.

Anja Gwendolyn van der Kolk¹, Jaco JM Zwanenburg^1,2, Manon Brundel³, Geert Jan Biessels³, Fredy Visser^1,4, Peter R Luijten¹, and Jeroen Hendrikse^1
1Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ²Image Science Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ³Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ⁴Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherlands

Nineteen patients with TIA or ischemic stroke and a relatively high risk of intracranial atherosclerosis were scanned with the 3D (volumetric) Magnetization Prepared Inversion Recovery Turbo Spin Echo (3D MPIR-TSE) sequence at 7 Tesla MRI, before and after contrast administration, for optimal visualisation of intracranial arterial vessel wall and possible depiction of atherosclerotic lesions. In total 25 lesions were found, of which 7 enhanced after contrast and only 3 lesions caused luminal stenosis as seen on TOF-MRA. The MPIR-TSE sequence makes it possible to study the role of intracranial atherosclerosis in stroke and TIA in more detail.

Eduardo Caverzasi^1,2, Laura J Julian³, Mehul Sampat⁴, Patricia Katz³, Monica Bucci⁵, Stefano Bastianello^2,6, and Roland G Henry^5,7
1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Neuroradiology Department, IRCCS C . Mondino Neurological Institute Foundation, Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ³Department of Medicine, UCSF, San Francisco, ⁴Department of Neurology, UCSF, San Francisco, ⁵Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF, San Francisco,⁶University of Pavia, Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ⁷Graduate Group in Bioengineering, UCSF

Cognitive dysfunction is the most common neuropsychiatric manifestation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), yet the underlying structural MRI correlates of cognitive dysfunction remain unclear. We investigated cortical thickness differences among SLE patients and healthy controls, and among SLE patients stratified by cognitive impairment status. Results showed no cortical thickness differences between SLE patients and controls, yet SLE patients with cognitive impairment bilaterally showed reduced cortical thickness in a number of regions when compared to cognitively intact SLE patients. These results suggest that cognitive impairment, even in the absence of other neurological syndromes, may be associated with underlying structural brain alterations.

Haiying Tang¹, Pascal Sati², Pinghong Yeh³, Binquan Wang³, Hai Pan³, James Smirniotopoulos¹, Reed Selwyn¹, Terry Oakes³, and Gerard Riedy^3
1Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States, ²NINDS, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States, ³Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC, United States

Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) is sensitive for detecting neurovascular abnormalities, iron deposition, calcifications, and hemorrhages in neurodegenerative diseases and trauma. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a sensitive neuroimaging technique for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The proposed SWI technique was implemented using a 3D multiecho gradient echo method to improve the visibility of the veins and lesions in various brain regions, and to provide a quantitative tool for brain lesion characterization based on R2* and phase mapping analysis. Heterogeneity of TBI lesions will benefit from the multiecho SWI acquisition and analysis.

Irvin Teh^1
1Clinical Imaging Research Centre, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Single-shot echo planar imaging (EPI) is widely used in MRI, but is resolution-limited and suffers from geometric distortions. Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParalEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction (PROPELLER) allows for higher resolution EPI by acquiring data in multiple shots. However, distortions in individual PROPELLER blades lead to artifacts in the final image. These distortions can be addressed by employing the reversed phase encoding gradient method to first correct for distortions between individual blade pairs. The corrected blades can be combined to enable high-resolution EPI with minimal distortions for applications such as structural and diffusion-weighted imaging.

Mohammad Sabati¹, and Andrew A Maudsley^1
1Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States

Accurate mapping of tissue water content, M0, with high spatial resolution and short experimental times is technically challenging. One efficient method for obtaining simultaneous M0 and T1-maps is based on acquiring two SPGR images in steady states with variable flip angles using linear parameterization. The two optimal flip angles for best T1-maps (i.e., maximum SNR) were previously found. Here, we analytically derive the optimal flip angles for SNR-optimized M0-maps and verify the result in eight healthy subjects. Accurate M0-maps with 1 mm isotropic resolution and whole brain coverage were achieved in a clinically acceptable time.

Jason Philipp Lerch¹, Jurgen Germann¹, John G Sled¹, R Mark Henkelman¹, and Brian J Nieman^1
1Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Brain morphology in the mouse is a sensitive indicator of disease, treatment, and environmental effects on the brain. It is unclear, however, when to select an in-vivo longitudinal or an ex-vivo cross-sectional study design. Using multiple simulations based on existing data and assuming a linear change, we determined that 3-5 timepoints per subject in-vivo MRI equates to a single high-resolution ex-vivo experiment. The key for in-vivo imaging is to keep the within-subject variance low.

Eric R Muir¹, Bryan H De La Garza¹, and Timothy Q Duong^1
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, United States

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which causes photoreceptor death and blindness, affects 1.5 million people worldwide. It is characterized by progressive loss of photoreceptors, followed by other neural and synaptic layers in the retina. In this study, high resolution MRI, acquired with balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP), was used to study anatomical thickness changes in a mouse model of RP at 42x42x400 micron. bSSFP provides fast imaging with good SNR and contrast in the retina. MRI detected longitudinal thinning of the retina at different stages of disease. MRI provided a non-invasive method to monitor anatomical changes in rodent retina in vivo.

Nicholas Adam Bock¹, Eyesha Hashim¹, Ara Kocharyan², and Afonso C Silva^2
1Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ²National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

In this abstract, we use high resolution 3D T1-weighted MRI at 7 Tesla to image cortical organization in four female common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) based on patterns of myelin density. Using surface rendering techniques, we present 3D and flattened annotated maps of the cortex based on images from a representative marmoset. We also characterize major cortical features including the primary visual, somatosensory, auditory, and motor areas based on their surface areas measured over the four animals.

Matthias F. Valverde Salzmann¹, Nikos Logothetis¹, and Rolf Pohmann^2
1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, ²Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany

High-resolution imaging of the vessels of the isolated rat brain was achieved by perfusing the animal with Gd- or FeO-based contrast agent. Imaging at isotropic resolutions of 45 ìm and 50 ìm at a field strength of 16.4 T resulted in excellent presentation of large and medium-sized vessels with Gd, and down to relatively small size in the FeO-enhanced images. A comparison to histologic sections revealed a highly reliable depiction even of the surface vessels.

Feng Wang^1,2, Li Min Chen^1,2, and Malcolm J Avison^1,2
1Radiology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²VUIIS, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States

We have compared the sensitivity, spatial specificity and stability across imaging sessions, of gradient (GE) and spin echo (SE) BOLD and GE-CBV contrast for ultra-high spatial resolution mapping of cortical activation associated with subtle physiological somatosensory stimulation of individual finger tips in a non-human primate model at high field. SE- and CBV-based mapping yielded similar more focal patterns of signal change, but the CBV response had significantly greater contrast than both GE- and SE-BOLD.

Thomas Boulet¹, Matthew L Kelso², and Shadi F Othman^3
1Engineering Mechanics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States, ²Pharmacy Practice, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States, ³Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Mechanical properties of the brain are expected to change due to biological processes triggered by the injury. By combining TBI models with microscopic magnetic resonance elastography (µMRE), it is possible to estimate viscoelastic properties in different brain regions. In this study, mechanical and MR properties are evaluated at several time-points following injury. The shear viscosity in the hippocampus, a region responsible for learning and memory, was found to be higher in the injured hemisphere compared to the healthy one which may be related to injury-induced cognitive deficits.

Marleen Verhoye¹, José Miguel Simões^2,3, Magda Teles^2,3, Annemie Van der Linden¹, and Rui F Oliviera^2,3
1Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium, ²Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Lisboa, Portugal, ³Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal

The increasing number of genetic tools available for the African cichlid Oreochromis mossambicus (Mozambique tilapia), together with the emerging interest in its use for neurobiological studies, increased the need for an accurate mapping of the tilapia brain. Our goal was to elaborate a T2-weighted 3D-digital atlas using magnetic resonance imaging on perfused tilapia brain. Resulting images enabled accurate segmentation of most brain nuclei in the olfactory bulb, telencephalon, diencephalon, optic tectum and cerebellum. This tilapia brain atlas is expected to become a very useful tool for neuroscientists using this fish model and will certainly expand their use in future studies.

Donghan Yang¹, William M Spees², Joseph JH Ackerman^1,2, Philip Verghese³, David M Holtzman³, and Jeff J Neil^2,3
1Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, ²Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States,³Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

High-resolution (59  59  250 µm) T2W images at 11.74 Tesla were acquired to study the early stage of CNS injury in mice following hypoxia-ischemia at postnatal day 7. Binomial-series water/fat-frequency-selective excitation pulses were employed to eliminate chemical-shift artifact from fat signal. Phantom tests were conducted to evaluate this fat-suppression method. In mice, T2 hyperintensity was detected specifically in the striatum and hippocampus in injured hemisphere as early as 6 hours after hypoxia. Unexpectedly, the full extent of injury was apparent within 24 hours.

Parastou Foroutan^1,2, Melissa E. Murray³, Shinsuke Fujioka⁴, Katherine J Schweitzer⁴, Dennis W. Dickson³, Samuel Colles Grant^1,2, and Zbigniew K. Wszolek^4
1National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States, ²Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States, ³Department of Pathology and Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, United States

MR microscopy (MRM) of the postmortem human globus pallidus (GP) acquired at 21.1 T was employed to distinguish between Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and healthy brain tissue. Statistical significance was found between PSP and controls for T₂* and T₂ relaxation in the GP interna and externa as well as for T₂* in the putamen. Histology showed that the GP interna displayed the largest difference between the PSP samples and controls, with the former showing a higher iron burden. As such, non-hem iron in the brain serves as a contrast enhancer and as a pathological biomarker to distinguish PSP samples from controls.

Mingming Huang¹, Lifeng Gao¹, Guanjun Zhu¹, and Hao Lei^1
1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics & Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China, People's Republic of

Type 1 diabetes was induced in rats by a single-dose intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ). High resolution anatomical images were acquired with a RARE sequence and in vivo 1H spectra of the visual cortex by a PRESS sequence at 12 weeks after induction. The STZ-treated rats showed significantly increased myo-inositol/creatine ratio, and significantly reduced NAA/creatine ratio and thickness in the visual cortex. These results indicated that chronic diabetic complications involves anatomical and metabolic changes in the visual cortex.

Benjamin Bender¹, Constantin Mänz¹, Thomas Nägele¹, and Uwe Klose^1
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Up to now deep brain stimulation of the thalamus for the treatment of neurological diseases is mostly dependent on stereotactic coordinates, as the substructures of the thalamus are not visible in standard MRI. Six healthy subjects were measured with an improved 3D MPRAGE at 3T with an acquisition time of about 20 minutes. The comparison with the histological slices of the Talairach brain showed a high level of concordance in corresponding slices, and larger nuclei groups could be firmly identified.

Mika Kitajima¹, Toshinori Hirai¹, Yoshinori Shigematsu¹, Hiroyuki Uetani¹, Koya Iwashita¹, Kousuke Morita¹, Masuma Akter¹, and Yasuyuki Yamashita^1
1Diagnostic Radiology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

3D-FLAIR imaging using varying flip angles of RF pulses reduces pulsation- and blood flow artifacts and yields a high SNR and high spatial resolution compared to 2D-FLAIR imaging. To evaluate the brain stem anatomy, we compared 3D-FLAIR images, TSE T2WI, diffusion-tensor color maps in 10 healthy volunteers, and used a brain atlas. On 3D-FLAIR images the detailed structures, i.e. the superior-, middle-, and inferior cerebellar peduncle, the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle, the central tegmental tract, the medial lemniscus, and the corticospinal tract were depicted; the white matter tracts were not visible on TSE T2WI.

Mandy M.A. Conijn¹, Mirjam I. Geerlings², Geert-Jan Biessels², Taro Takahara², Theo D. Witkamp², Jaco J.M. Zwanenburg², Peter R. Luijten², and Jeroen Hendrikse^2
1Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ²University Medical Center Utrecht

The purpose of this study was to compare the visualization of microbleeds with T2*-weighted imaging on 1.5T with dual echo T2*-weighted imaging at 7T and assess the reliability of the detection of microbleeds with the two field strengths. 3D dual echo T2*-weighted imaging at 7T results in detection of microbleeds in more patients, detection of a higher number of microbleeds better and more reliable detection of microbleeds compared to 3D T2*-weighted imaging at 1.5T.

Naranjargal Dashdorj¹, Katherine Corrie², Antonio Napolitano¹, Samuel Wharton³, Esben Thade Petersen⁴, Ravi Mahajan², and Dorothee P Auer^1
1Academic Radiology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, ²Division of Anaesthesia, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ³School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, ⁴National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore

Global cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) and cerebral blood flow are important physiological indices of brain function and metabolism. Noninvasive measurements of these markers would be valuable in clinical neuroscience. In recent years, it has been shown that CMRO2 and CBF can be quantified using MRI techniques. Specifically, susceptometry-based oxymetry has been shown to be a quick way to quantify global cerebral metabolic changes. However, the robustness and reliability of this technique has not been tested during various physiological challenges. Quantifications of global cerebral metabolic changes during anaesthesia and different pathological conditions are of interest in neuroscience and clinical practice. This study investigated the feasibility and reliability of CMRO2 and CBF quantifications during 40% oxygen inhalation

Benjamin M Ellingson¹, Timothy F Cloughesy², Albert Lai², Phioanh L Nghiemphu², and Whitney B Pope^1
1Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States

The purpose of the current study was to quantify the reduction in T2 signal abnormality accompanying administration of the anti-angiogenic drug bevacizumab in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) patients using a voxel-wise differential quantitative T2 (DQT2) mapping technique. Results demonstrate a significant decrease in T2 within pre-treatment T2 abnormal regions following anti-VEGF treatment. The degree of reduction in T2 was larger in patients who progress later and survive longer.

Benjamin M Ellingson¹, Timothy F Cloughesy², Albert Lai², Phioanh L Nghiemphu², and Whitney B Pope^1
1Radiological Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Identification and quantification of spatially-localized brain regions undergoing high rates of tumor cell migration and proliferation is critical for improving patient survival. CIMPLE (cell invasion, motility, and proliferation level estimates) image maps from serial diffusion MRI represent a novel method of quantifying the level of aggressive malignant behavior. In the current study, we demonstrate the utility of CIMPLE maps to predict regions of future contrast-enhancement and stratify short and long-term progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in recurrent glioblastoma patients treated with bevacizumab.

Antonella Castellano¹, Marina Donativi^2,3, Lorenzo Bello⁴, Giorgio De Nunzio^2,3, Marco Riva⁴, Gabriella Pastore², Giuseppe Casaceli⁴, Roberta Rudà⁵, Riccardo Soffietti⁵, Giuseppe Scotti¹, and Andrea Falini^1
1Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy, ²Department of Materials Science, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, ³INFN (National Institute of Nuclear Physics), Lecce, Italy, ⁴Neurosurgery, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milano, Milan, Italy, ⁵Neuro-oncology, Department of Neuroscience and Oncology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy

fDMs analysis was applied to diffusion tensor decomposition-derived isotropic (p) and anisotropic (q) maps during neuroradiological follow-up of patients undergone to chemotherapy before surgery; changes in diffusion parameters within tumor tissue were correlated both with neurophysiological data from intraoperative subcortical mapping and histopathological findings from specimens obtained from image-guided tumor biopsies. The proposed DTI-based method, when benchmarked against morphologic imaging criteria, seems to provide an indication of response to treatment prior to alteration in size.

Vangelis Metsis¹, Ovidiu C. Andronesi^2,3, Heng Huang¹, Michael N. Mindrinos⁴, Laurence G. Rahme⁵, Fillia Makedon¹, and Aria A. Tzika^2,3
1Computer Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States, ²NMR Surgical Laboratory, Dept. of Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States, ³Athinoula A. Martinos Center of Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States, ⁴Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States, ⁵Molecular Surgery Laboratory, Dept. of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burn Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

In this work we verify the advantage of combining features from Gene Expression and MRS data for brain tumor typing and we introduce a new feature selection method based on Joint ℓ2,1-Norms Minimization which improves classification accuracy in the multiclass problem.

Sumei Wang¹, Sungheon Kim², Yu Zhang¹, Lu Wang¹, Edward B Lee³, Peter Syre⁴, John YK Lee⁴, Harish Poptani¹, and Elias R Melhem^1
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ³Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ⁴Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

The purpose of this study is to determine whether DTI metrics along with histogram analysis can help in grading and subtyping of meningiomas. Forty-five meningiomas underwent DTI studies. Logistic regression analysis indicated that mean of eigenvalue skewness (SK), kurtosis of FA, skewness of SK and kurtosis of SK comprised the best model to differentiate atypical from typical meningiomas. Mean of CL, CP, CS and skewness of CP comprised the best predictor to differentiate fibroblastic from other subtype meningiomas. Significantly increased mean FA, CP, LI and decreased CS were observed in fibroblastic subtypes compared with both atypical and other subtype meningiomas.

Xiang Liu¹, Wei Tian², and Sven Ekholm^2
1Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States, ²Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Cente, Rochester, NY, United States

Although it is important, it is difficult to preoperatively differentiate between intracranial dural based metastases and meningiomas, on conventional MR images. We retrospectively analyzed diffusion tensor imaging in 21 patients with meningiomas and 18 cases of dural metastases. The FA and maximal FA values of meningiomas were significantly higher than for intracranial dural based metastases; but there was no significant difference in mean ADC and minimal ADC values. The maximal FA showed better sensitivity and specificity in these two groups. Therefore, mean and maximal FA may be adjuvant imaging parameters to differentiate between intracranial meningiomas and dural based metastases.

kenneth james smith¹, Mitchel Berger², Susan Chang³, Rachel Smith⁴, and Tracy Richmond McKnight^4
1Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ²Neurosurgery, University of California San Francisco, ³Neuro oncology, University of California San Francisco, ⁴Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco

Loss of 1p and 19q heterozygosity has been identified as a primary prognostic factor in glial tumors, regardless of treatment. Patients have significantly higher progression free survival as well as an increased response to chemotherapy when they exhibit a co-deletion in the 1p and 19q chromosomal arms. Our Goal, using High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HRMAS) MRS, was to investigate whether or not 1p19q influenced tumor metabolism. We found significantly higher concentration of creatine as well as glutamine in tumors that did not exhibit a loss of 1p and 19q heterozygosity.

Sanjeev Chawla¹, Yu Zhang¹, Jaroslaw Krejza¹, Gurpreet Kapoor², Sumei Wang¹, Sangeeta Chaudhary¹, Arastoo Vossough¹, Donald O' Rourke², Elias R Melhem¹, and Harish Poptani^1
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

To identify oligodendroglial genotypes, 1H-MRS voxels guided by perfusion weighted imaging were analyzed from 34 patients [1p/19q deletion (Group I, n=19), and intact alleles (Group II, n=15)]. 1H-MRS grid was overlaid on CBV maps. CBV values were obtained by drawing ROIs from the tumor and were normalized to contralateral white-matter to obtain relative rCBV values. 1H- MRS indices were computed from maximum rCBV regions and logistic regression analyses was performed. Using a combination of maximum rCBV and Cho/Cr from the maximum rCBV ROI resulted in a sensitivity of 73% and specificity of 84% in distinguishing the two groups of oligodendrogliomas.

Keith Wachowicz^1,2, and B. Gino Fallone^2,3
1Medical Physics, Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, ²Medical Physics, Cross Cancer Institute, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,³Departments of Physics and Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

This work explores the use of multi-exponential decomposition on transverse relaxation decay in patients with gliomas, and its potential for assisting in the contouring process for dose prescription, tracking response to therapy, and possibly differentiating from different heterogeneous tumour regions. 3D multi-echo patient data sets were acquired and analysed with a non-negative least squares algorithm for decomposition. Results suggest that elevation of T2 in some localized tumour regions may be more than just a shift to a longer mono-exponential decay, but possibly a shift to a more complicated distribution.

Matej Vrabec¹, Sofie Van Cauter², Uwe Himmelreich³, Stefaan W Van Gool², Stefan Sunaert², Steven De Vleeschouwer², Dušan Šuput⁴, and Philippe Demaerel^2
1Department of Radiology, University Clinical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia, ²University Hospitals of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, ³Catholic University Leuven, ⁴Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

The potential value of MR-PWI and MR-DWI to differentiate immune therapy induced inflammatory response from recurrent glioblastoma tumour growth was asessed. Both entities can present as contrast-enhancing lesions on conventional MRI. 32 follow-up MRI examinations of patients with recurrent glioblastoma (mean follow-up time 21 months) in 8 patients were analyzed for this study. Maximum lesional rCBV ratios and minimum ADC values in the contrast-enhancing area were found to be potential radiological markers to differentiate between immune therapy induced inflammatory response and recurrent glioblastoma tumour growth in glioblastoma patients treated with immune therapy.

Leland S Hu^1,2, Jennifer M Eschbacher³, Amylou C Dueck⁴, Seban Liu⁵, Kris A Smith⁶, Kasuen Kotagama⁵, Stephen W Coons³, Joseph E. Heiserman⁷, John P Karis⁷, Todd Jensen⁸, William Shapiro⁹, Josef Debbins⁵, Peter Nakaji⁶, Burt G Feuerstein⁹, and Leslie C Baxter^5
1Radiology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ²Radiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ³Neuropathology, Barrow Neurological Institute, ⁴Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic Arizona, ⁵Keller Center for Imaging Innovation, Barrow Neurological Institute, ⁶Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, ⁷Neuroradiology, Barrow Neurological Institute, ⁸Imaging Biometrics, LLC, ⁹Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute

Perfusion-MRI (pMRI) measures or relative cerebral blood volume (relCBV) can distinguish subregions of tumor from radiation-injury within non-specific Contrast-Enhanced MRI lesions in recurrent GBM. As histologic tumor fraction impacts prognosis and management, we study three different pMRI-based methods of estimating tumor fraction and compare their correlations with outcome. Specifically, we report a new voxel-based relCBV thresholding method called Fractional Tumor Burden (pMRI-FTB), compared with previously published histogram-based Peak Height Position (PHP) and mean relCBV methods. pMRI-FTB showed the highest correlation with Histologic tumor fraction (r=0.82,p<0.0001) and was the only method to correlate with Overall Survival (p<0.006), suggesting its clinical utility.

Patrik Brynolfsson¹, Thomas Asklund², Anders Garpebring¹, and Tufve Nyholm^2
1Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, ²Department of Oncology, Norrland University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden

Thirteen patients with a total of 18 brain tumors undergoing first or second line treatment were examined before, during and after treatment using quantitative MRI measuring T₁, T₂ and ADC. Two weeks after treatment start a significant decrease in ADC and T₁ was observed in patients with tumor progression. Six weeks after treatment start a significant change associated with treatment response could be seen in all parameters. There seemed to be a difference between first line and second line treatment; however more data is needed to investigate that relationship further.

Chu-Yu Lee¹, Leland Hu², Leslie C Baxter³, and Josef P Debbins^3
1Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States, ²Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, United States, ³Neuroimaging Research, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Resolving the regions of recurrent tumor from post-treatment radiation effects (PTRE) can be challenging, because both can appear enhancing on the contrast enhanced T1 imaging, as shown in Fig. 1a and 1e. Diffusion-weighted Imaging (DWI) was shown to correlate with tumor cellularity [1]. Recently, DWI with a higher b-value was found to have greater sensitivity to the changes in tumor cellularity [2, 3]. While the complications of treatment-bed changes involve tumor growth, radiation- and operation-induced lesions [4, 5], the intra-voxel diffusion heterogeneity measured by the high b-value DWI may be useful in differentiating between pathological mechanisms. In this study, two multiple b-value diffusion models: the stretched exponential model (α-DWI) [6] and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) [7] were used to assess the recurrent tumor and the PTRE. Their fitted parameters: α and Kapp quantify the diffusion heterogeneity without information about the number of water compartments.

Carolyn Branecky¹, Devyani Bedekar², and Kathleen Schmainda^3,4
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, ²Translational Brain Tumor Research Program, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States,³Radiology & Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, ⁴Translational Brain Tumor Research Program, Medical College of Wisconsin

Tumor genotype is becoming increasingly influential in guiding the treatment of brain tumors. Allelic losses on 1p and 19q have an incidence of 60-90% in oligodendroglioma cases1,2. It has been found that tumors displaying the 1p 19q co-deletion are more responsive both to radiation and chemotherapy and have a longer overall survival3,4. It would be highly beneficial for oncologists to have an indication of deletion status via imaging in cases where biopsy is not preferable. It has been found that 1p 19q deleted oligodendrogliomas tend to have a mixed intensity signal on T1 and that 1p 19q intact oligodendrogliomas and oligoastrocytomas have greater T1 signal homogeneity5,6. In this study we aim to find an imaging characteristic that is more readily apparent and quantifiable in order to allow for easy identification of tumors with 1p 19q deletion status.

Peter Sherman LaViolette¹, Alex D Cohen¹, Scott D Rand², Wade Mueller³, and Kathleen M Schmainda^2
1Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ³Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

The detection of invading brain tumor cells, beyond the traditional contrast-enhancing regions, continues to be a challenge for the treatment of brain tumors. While areas of FLAIR enhancement represent vasogenic edema, some regions are thought to contain invading brain tumor cells. We have observed that regions of heightened FLAIR do not necessarily correspond to regions of heightened ADC expected from increased extracellular fluid. In fact in some cases, heightened FLAIR corresponds to a lower ADC value, what we refer to here as an ADC-FLAIR mismatch, i.e. low ADC within high FLAIR signal. We hypothesize that these regions are potentially indicative of brain tumor invasion. In this study we measure ADC-FLAIR mismatch excluding enhancement (AFMEE) in invasive and non-invasive brain tumor phenotypes.

Peter Sherman LaViolette¹, Elizabeth J Cochran², Mona Al-Gizawiy³, Scott D Rand³, Mark G Malkin⁴, Jennifer Connelly⁴, Wade Mueller⁵, and Kathleen M Schmainda^3
1Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ³Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ⁴Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ⁵Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

The detection of invading brain tumor cells, beyond the traditional contrast-enhancing regions, continues to be a challenge for the treatment of brain tumors. Decreases in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) have been shown to correlate with an increase in tumor cellularity. Graded functional diffusion maps (gfDM) result from the subtraction and thresholding of ADC maps from multiple time points. In this study of invasive glioblastoma, we correlate in-vivo biomarkers for blood volume, and increased cellularity with ex-vivo brain tissue.

Emma Essock-Burns^1,2, Janine M Lupo², Laleh Jalilian², Michael D Prados³, Soonmee Cha^2,3, Susan M Chang³, and Sarah J Nelson^1,4
1UCSF/UCB Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ²Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ³Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States,⁴Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

Antiangiogenic therapy alters the presentation of contrast enhancement limiting the effectiveness of standard assessment methods for evaluating response in GBM patients. Alternate assessment methods are needed, especially for anti-VEGF therapy in the upfront, newly-diagnosed setting. This study tracked volume changes in the “DSC-perfusion abnormality,” statistically thresholded on a per-patient basis, compared to the standard CE-lesion in 27 GBM patients receiving upfront anti-VEGF therapy. A large, significant decrease in percent recovery abnormality volume was seen by month-1 and decrease in peak height abnormality by month-2. The ultimate goal is to characterize the DSC-perfusion abnormality that best identifies a likely responder patient.

Katherine Frances Holliday^1,2, Gerard Thompson^1,2, Samantha Jane Mills^1,2, Giovanni Buonaccorsi^1,2, Alan Jackson^1,2, Josephine H Naish^1,2, and Geoffrey J M Parker^1,2
1Imaging Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, ²University of Manchester Biomedical Imaging Institute, Manchester, United Kingdom

Hypoxia has been linked to tumour progression and metastasis and is also known to affect sensitivity to treatment. Oxygen-enhanced MRI is a proposed method to investigate oxygen delivery and consumption in tumour tissue non-invasively that is based on observing changes in R₁ during the breathing of 100% oxygen. In this study, patients with glioma underwent both OEMRI and DCE-MRI. Oxygen-enhanced R₁ change was calculated on a voxel-wise basis, and regions with significant changes in both directions were identified. Correlations were found between these R₁ changes and contrast agent uptake during DCE-MRI, suggesting identification of both poorly-perfused hypoxic regions and well-perfused, well-oxygenated regions.

Kyrre E Emblem^1,2, Ronald JH. Borra¹, Kim Mouridsen¹, Atle Bjornerud^2,3, Rakesh K. Jain⁴, Tracy T Batchelor⁵, and Gregory Sorensen^1
1A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, ²The Interventional Center, Oslo University Hospital - Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway, ³Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, ⁴Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, ⁵Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Studies have shown that MR imaging can detect a period of vascular normalization during anti-VEGF therapy in patients with recurrent glioblastomas. Also, it has been shown that a ‘vascular normalization index’ (VNI) can be derived from changes in vascular permeability (K^trans) from DCE imaging and microvessel cerebral blood volume (CBV) from DSC imaging, among others, and that this VNI parameter is suggestive of patient outcome. In our study, we show that a single DSC-MRI acquisition combined with automatic post-processing routines can be used to derive a similar VNI parameter, thereby improving the clinical workflow.

Jalal Badi Andre¹, Heiko Schmiedeskamp¹, Greg Zaharchuk¹, Matus Straka¹, Thomas Christen¹, Lawrence Recht², and Roland Bammer^1
1Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, ²Neuro-Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States

This retrospective pilot study highlights our initial experience using a combined multiecho spin and gradient echo (SAGE) EPI sequence during bolus contrast that allows direct evaluation of R2 changes to R2* changes for vessel size imaging (VSI). This SAGE technique was used in patients with pathologically proven GBM, and applied to address the question of tumor recurrence versus radiation necrosis in the hope of identifying a more sensitive method to detect tumor recurrence, thus enabling more timely modification of therapy and improved prognosis.

Michael Helle¹, Susanne Rüfer¹, Matthias van Osch², David Gordon Norris^3,4, Olav Jansen¹, and Arya Nabavi^5
1Institute for Neuroradiology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, UK-SH, Kiel, Germany, ²C.J. Gorter Center for high field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands, ³Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ⁴Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen, Germany, ⁵Clinic for Neurosurgery, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, UK-SH, Kiel, Germany

Certain tumors of the CNS, particularly large meningiomas, can present variable vascular architectures. Patients need to undergo intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography to reveal a reliable estimate of the feeding vasculature. This study demonstrates that superselective arterial spin labeling makes it possible to identify all tumor-supplying arteries and to define different compartments in a complete non-invasive way. This information can be crucial for surgeons as a basis for planning the approach, and reacting to intra-operative bleeding. The depiction of feeding arteries may also help to distinguish between intra- and extra-axial tumors since differentiation on conventional MR imaging alone can be difficult.

Krzysztof Gorgolewski¹, Mark Bastin², Laura Rigolo³, H. A. Soleiman⁴, Cyril Pernet², Amos Storkey¹, and Alexandra J. Golby^3
1School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ²Department of Medical Physics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ³Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, United States, ⁴Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

In the following study we have tried to asses the influence of using different thresholding methods (SPM, FSL and manual) of fMRI maps on potential clinical decision in tumour resection planning. We have discovered that assuming a safety margin of 10mm and less one third of the cases were recommended for partial resection.

Nigel Paul Davies¹, Maryam Kalantari Saghafi², Martin Wilson³, Yu Sun³, Theodoros N Arvanitis⁴, and Andrew C Peet^3
1Medical Physics, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom, ²School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom,³Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom, ⁴Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Temperature may be a useful supplementary biomarker for the clinical management of brain tumours. In-vivo 1H MRS can provide absolute local temperature measurements through the empirical linear relationship between temperature and water chemical shift. However, fast chemical and magnetization exchange effects also contribute to water chemical shift. This study investigates water chemical shift differences due to temperature and fast exchange effects in two types of childhood brain tumours using short-TE and long-TE 1H MRS. Significant differences in water chemical shift between tumour types and TE are found, suggesting that fast exchange effects may contribute significantly to observed apparent temperature differences.

Zheng Chang¹, John P. Kirkpatrick¹, Zhiheng Wang¹, Jing Cai¹, and Fang-Fang Yin^1
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been an effective treatment for brain tumors; however, few data are available regarding radiation-induced white matter (WM) damage by SRS. In this work, MR diffusion tensor imaging was used to investigate WM changes following SRS. Seven patients with gliomas were scanned before, 7-day and 2-month following SRS. Diffusion coefficient , fractional anisotropy (FA), number of fibers (NF) were statistically calculated, with Wilcoxon signed-rank test. After SRS, increased by 3.9% (p=0.610), and FA decreased significantly by 7.8% (p=0.02) with 36% decline of NF (p=0.11). The preliminary results suggest white matter protection shall be considered in SRS.

Adam M Winchell^1,2, Mehmet Kocak³, Hoang-Vu Tran¹, Ruitian Song¹, Ralf B Loeffler¹, Alberto Broniscer⁴, and Claudia M Hillenbrand^1
1Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States, ²Biomedical Engineering, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States, ³Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States, ⁴Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States

Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion imaging was performed to investigate a preliminary understanding of vascular proliferation of the tumor during RT. The objective of this study was to study the evolution of perfusion using DSC during treatment of DIPG to provide markers of disease response and progression.

Varsha Jain¹, Michael Langham¹, Thomas T Floyd², Jeremy F Magland¹, and Felix W Wehrli^1
1Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, ²Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Hypercapnia is a common occurrence in pathophysiologic conditions and is also used as a diagnostic tool to measure cerebral vascular reactivity to assess the integrity of cerebral circulation which can be altered in pathophysiological states. While the vascular effects of hypercapnia on cerebral blood flow have been well documented, there is no general consensus on its metabolic effects. Additionally from a neuroscience research perspective, assumption of constant cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (CMRO2) during hypercapnia is used for calibrating blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) response in functional magnetic resonance imaging, yet verification is pending. Hence, we propose a robust and reliable method for quantifying CMRO2 during hypercapnia by simultaneously measuring total cerebral blood flow (tCBF) and venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) in the major cerebral supply and drainage vessels during hypercapnia with a temporal resolution of ~30s.

Rexford D Newbould¹, Andrew P Brown¹, David R.L. Owen¹, Joseph Shalhoub², and Giulio Gambarota^1
1GSK Clinical Imaging Centre, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

USPIO uptake in carotid plaques may be a marker of macrophage activity and therefore inflammation in the plaque. Unlike FSE, GRE sequences have large artifact power from flowing blood spins in the vessels. Strong blood suppression is therefore needed to acquire T2* maps of the carotid plaques, which are located near these flowing spins, to model USPIO uptake. Motion-sensitized driven equilibrium (MSDE) preparation rapidly suppresses flowing spins, and here is applied to a multiecho GRE sequence. The effect of MSDE on the image contrast and T2* mapping is characterized, and is used in six subjects with carotid plaques at 3T.

Varsha Jain¹, Gaurav Jain², Jeremy F Magland¹, and Felix W Wehrli^1
1Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, ²Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States

A robust method for quantifying regional cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption (rCMRO2) would be of significant clinical utility in the workup of numerous vascular pathologies affecting the brain. Currently, there are no established and reliable noninvasive methods for quantifying absolute rCMRO2. Alternate imaging methods such as positron emission tomography (PET) are limited in their use due to invasiveness and expense. Here, as an extension to the recently reported method for determining global CMRO2, we demostrate the feasibility of determining lateralized rCMRO2 corresponding to the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory by measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the MCA and regional venous oxygen saturation (rSvO2) in the largest superficial cortical vein draining into the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) corresponding to the MCA vascular territory.

Kwok Keung Chow¹, David Ka Wai Yeung¹, Queenie Chan², and Ann D King^1
1Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ²Philips Healthcare

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of b-values on ADC measurement of cancer in a group of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Two sets of b-values [(a) 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 s/mm2; (b) 0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 s/mm2] DWI was performed on 14 patients with histologically confirmed NPC. ADC maps were calculated using two and six b-factors. The ADC values using high b-values (1000 s/mm2) were significantly lower to the low b-value (500 s/mm2). There are no significant differences when using two b-factor or six b-factor calculation method.

Ljiljana Platisa¹, Anthony De Smet¹, Ivana Despotovic¹, Asli Kumcu¹, Karel Deblaere², Aleksandra Pizurica¹, Ewout Vansteenkiste¹, and Wilfried Philips^1
1TELIN-IPI-IBBT, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, ²Department of Neuroradiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

We propose a new algorithm for cortical thickness measurement in T1 weighted (T1-w) MRI images aiming to overcome the major limitation of a number of the existing similar methods which could lead to under- or over-estimated thickness of grey matter within sulci: (1) lack of awareness of the partial volume (PV) effect (the presence of multiple tissue classes in a single voxel) present at both the white matter (WM) to gray matter (GM) and the GM to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) transition, and (2) ignorance of the regions of buried cortex where the CSF between the sulci is not resolved.

Marco Borri¹, Maria Schmidt¹, Ceri Powell², Dow -Mu Koh^1,3, Angela Riddell³, K Harrington², Kate Newbold², James Darcy¹, and Martin O Leach^1
1CR-UK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, United Kingdom, ²Head & Neck Department, The Royal Marsden Hospital,³Radiology Department, The Royal Marsden Hospital

Dynamic-Contrast-Enhanced(DCE) and Diffusion-Weighted(DWI) MRI have proved to be useful in the diagnosis and staging of head and neck carcinoma. Primary lesions and lymph nodes are known to be heterogeneous and both DWI and DCE parametric maps show spatial variations within large lesions. In this work we investigate longitudinal variations of functional MRI parameters in a cohort of patients with head and neck carcinoma undergoing radical chemoradiotherapy. Considerably lower Ktrans, Ve and IAUG60 are found for responders. Functional MRI has provided useful information on treatment response at an early time point, and merits further investigation as a tool in patient management.

Uten Yarach¹, and Suwit Saekho^1,2
1Radiological Technology, Chiang Mai University, Muang, Chiang mai, Thailand, ²Biomedical Engineering Center, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Rapid change of magnetic susceptibility at air/tissue interface such as neck can lead to incorrect chemical shift-selective (CHESS) fat suppression on MR imaging. Applying pad devices with CHESS to shift air/tissue interface away from the skin have been used to improve the incomplete fat suppression. We propose Natural Rubber (NR) for building a neck pad to improve local magnetic field inhomogeneity. The study included testing material, building device, and testing on volunteers. The results showed that using the NR pad with CHESS provided completely fat suppression for neck MR imaging both in T1 and T2 weighted with invisible device.

Chun-Jung Juan¹, Cheng-Chieh Cheng², Hsiao-Wen Chung^1,2, Yee-Min Jen³, Hing-Chiu Chang^2,4, Su-Chin Chiu², Cheng-Yu Chen¹, Chun-Jen Hsueh¹, Yaoh-Shiang Lin⁵, and Guo-Shu Huang^1
1Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ³Department of Radiation Oncology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁵Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Functional impairment and volume reduction were frequently encountered in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients who are treated with radiation therapy. In this preliminary study, the temporal evolutions of structural and physiological features of the irradiated parotid glands were investigated with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI.

Cheng-Chieh Cheng¹, Chun-Jung Juan², Hsiao-Wen Chung¹, Yee-Min Jen³, Hing-Chiu Chang^1,4, Su-Chin Chiu¹, Cheng-Yu Chen², Chun-Jen Hsueh², Yaoh-Shiang Lin⁵, and Guo-Shu Huang^2
1Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ³Department of Radiation Oncology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁵Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI are common techniques adopted for clinical diagnoses, and were utilized in investigations of irradiated parotid glands. To the best of our knowledge, the relationship between parotid perfusion and diffusion properties has not been investigated yet. In this study, we attempted to disclose the connection of parotid gland perfusion and diffusion characteristics, before and after radiation therapy. Our results suggest that the extravascular extracellular space plays a major role in the ADC measurements.

Matthew Taylor¹, Jamie Near², and Philip Cowen^1
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, ²FMRIB Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

A 1H-MRS study was performed to investigate the cortical neurochemistry of chronic hepatitis C and the effect of treatment with interferon-alpha. Short-TE MR spectra were performed in the posterior cingulate cortex of a group of patients with chronic hepatitis C and a group of healthy controls using the SPECIAL sequence. The patient group was scanned at two timepoints – before treatment and 4-6 weeks following treatment with interferon alpha. Initial results indicate that patients with hepatitis C tend to have elevated choline and glutathione levels and reduced levels of phosphorylethanolamine. Treatment with interferon alpha tends to normalize these changes.

M Mallar Chakravarty^1,2, Rosanne Aleong¹, Gabriel Leonard³, Michel Peron⁴, G Bruce Pike³, Louis Richer⁵, Suzanne Veillet⁴, Zdenka Pausova^6,7, and Tomas Paus^1,7
1Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ³Montréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada, ⁴CÉGEP de Jonquière, Jonquière, Quebec, Canada, ⁵Département des sciences de l'éducation et de psychologie, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada, ⁶The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ⁷School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Quantitative analysis of craniofacial morphology is of interest to scholars working in a wide variety of disciplines, such as anthropology, developmental biology, and medicine. T1-weighted (anatomical) magnetic resonance images (MRI) provide excellent contrast between soft tissues. Given its three-dimensional nature, MRI represents an ideal imaging modality for the analysis of craniofacial structure in living individuals. Here we describe how T1-weighted MR images, acquired to examine brain anatomy, can also be used to analyze facial features. Using a sample of typically developing adolescents from the Saguenay Youth Study (N = 597; 292 male, 305 female, ages: 12 to 18 years), we quantified inter-individual variations in craniofacial structure using voxel-based analysis and the decomposition of craniofacial features using landmark based techniques. The results demonstrate the sexual dimorphism of the human face.

Cheng-Chieh Cheng¹, Chun-Jung Juan², Hsiao-Wen Chung¹, Yee-Min Jen³, Hing-Chiu Chang^1,4, Su-Chin Chiu¹, Cheng-Yu Chen², Chun-Jen Hsueh², Yaoh-Shiang Lin⁵, and Guo-Shu Huang^2
1Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ³Department of Radiation Oncology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁵Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

Human parotid glands are highly radio-sensitive and prone to radiation injury. In this study we monitored the volume changes of the irradiated parotid glands and the parotid gland perfusion alteration. Different behaviors of the contrast agent wash-in slope were found between the mildly and severely shrank parotid glands. Whether this perfusion characteristic may help disease diagnosis as well as treatment outcome prediction is of clinical interest and deserves further investigation.

Jacobus F.A. Jansen¹, Heiko Schoder², Yonggang Lu², Hilda E Stambuk², Dara Srisaranard², Nancy Y Lee², Snehal G Patel², Jatin P Shah², Jason A Koutcher², and Amita Shukla-Dave^2
1Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ²MSKCC, NY, NY, United States

The study aims to correlate pretreatment multimodality imaging (MMI) data obtained with DW-MRI and 18F-FDG PET in patients with advanced head and neck cancer for more precise assessment of the tumor biology. Thirty-six patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 6 with lymphoepithelioma (LE) cancer were included. For all patients, tumor volume, mean(ADC), std(ADC), mean(SUV), max(SUV), and TLG, were correlated. Additionally, secondary normalized measures rADCmin and rSUVmax were correlated. It was found that in head and neck cancer, DW-MRI and 18F-FDG seem to provide independent information on tumor microenvironment for both SCC and LE. However, information regarding the heterogeneous nature of tumors, obtained using the two techniques, seems to be complementary.

Irina Mader¹, Markus Treier¹, Christian Schild², Hansjörg Mast¹, Stefan Zwick³, Christian Taschner¹, and Susan Arndt^2
1Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, ²Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, ³Dept. of Radiology, Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Problem: MR imaging in patients with cochlear implants (CI) has to be considered at 3T. Imaging artefacts are a major concern for the assessment of anatomical structures. Methods: Imaging artefacts of 5 different types of CI were evaluated at 1.5 and 3T in a phantom and a cadaver head at two different implantation angles and in 6 imaging sequences. Results: An automated cluster analysis showed that the main factor for artefacts was the presence of the magnet in the CI during scanning. Conclusion: Artefact sizes were in line to the literature. MR scanning without magnet in the CI is preferable.

Vít Herynek¹, Monika Dezortová¹, Dita Wagnerová¹, Irena Hejlová², and Milan Hájek^1
1MR-unit, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic, ²Hepatogastroenterology Department, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

Hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver disease manifests itself by hyperintense (T1-weighted images) or hypointense (T2-weighted images) signals in the basal ganglia due to deposition of paramagnetic ions. This process is reversible by liver transplantation. These changes can be assessed by relaxometry. We collected a unique group of 37 patients transplanted 8-15 years ago, which was compared to a group of patients before liver transplantation and a group of patients measured within two years after. Relaxometry revealed that recovery in the basal ganglia is permanent and no recurrence of paramagnetic ions was observed even after 15 years.

Zhifeng Kou¹, Randall Benson², Ramtilak Gattu³, Jie Yang³, Valerie Mika⁴, Robert Welch⁴, Scott Millis⁵, and E Mark Haacke^1
1Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ²Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ³Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ⁴Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States, ⁵Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is very difficult to detect in emergency setting. A comprehensive use of three MRI techniques, including susceptibility weighted imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and MR spectroscopy imaging, could significantly improve the detection of mTBI in acute setting and potentially impact the management of mTBI patients at the acute stage.

Yoshimitsu Ohgiya¹, Jumpei Suyama¹, Syouei Sai¹, Masaaki Kawahara¹, Jirou Munechika¹, Makoto Saiki¹, Noritaka Seino¹, Masanori Hirose¹, and Takehiko Gokan^1
1Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

Purpose: To evaluate motion artifacts, tissue contrasts, and lesion detectability in the neck with BLADE technique. Materials and Methods: Forty-six patients referred for MRI of the neck were included in a comparison of T2-weighted BLADE (T2W-BLADE) sequence and T2-weighted fast spin-echo (T2W-FSE) sequence. Results: T2W-BLADE showed less ghosting and pulsation artifacts than T2W-FSE (P < 0.01).�@There was no significant difference in tissue contrasts between T2W-BLADE and T2W-FSE. Thirty two lesions were present in 32 patients and equally well seen on T2W-BLADE and T2W-FSE. Conclusion: T2W-BLADE can reduce motion artifacts and provide tissue contrasts and lesion detectability equivalent to T2W-FSE.

Manoj K Sarma¹, M. Albert Thomas¹, Rajakumar Nagarajan¹, April Thames², Steven Castellon³, Elyse Singer⁴, Jason Smith⁵, Linda Croad⁶, Lavezza Bhatti⁷, Ann Ragin⁸, and Charles Hinkin^3
1Radiological Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los angeles, CA, United States, ³Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁴Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁵VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Service, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁶Kaiser Permanente Lancaster, CA, United States, ⁷AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁸Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States

We investigated the cortical thickness and volume across a group of Hepatitis C patients before and after interferon (IFN) therapy employing an automated method for regional parcellation. Significant increase of cortical thickness was observed in lateral occipital in both hemisphere in patients after IFN. Increase cortical volume were seen in both hemisphere at the caudal middle frontal, rostral middle frontal superior temporal and also in left precentral, left lateral orbitofrontal, right middle temporal after IFN. The areas that showed significant reduced cortical volume were left medial orbitofrontal, right fusiform and bilateral lateral occipital.

Seung Hong Choi¹, Chul-Ho Sohn¹, Ji-Hoon Kim¹, and Kee-Hyun Chang^1
1Department of Radiology, eoul National University Hospital, Seoul, ., Korea, Republic of

The significant correlation between the ratio of ADC2000 to ADC1000 value and SUVmax, and the difference between ADC2000 to ADC1000 value and SUVmax in primary head and neck cancer suggests that DWI and FDG PET/CT might play a complementary role for the clinical assessment of this cancer type.

Guillaume Gilbert^1,2, Jon Nissenbaum³, and Gilles Beaudoin^1
1Department of Radiology, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada, ²MR Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States, ³Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, United States

In this abstract, the performance of a triggered cine-MRI sequence is evaluated in the context of dynamic imaging of the vocal tract for linguistics and phonetics studies. The synchronization precision of this method is evaluated using wide band spectrograms of the recorded speech output. It is demonstrated that the use of this approach allows for the acquisition of dynamic images with high spatial resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio, along with a relatively good temporal fidelity (~ 30 ms).

Yoon-Chul Kim¹, Michael I Proctor¹, Shrikanth S Narayanan¹, and Krishna S Nayak^1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Real-time MRI of speech typically involves imaging a single midsagittal slice. This approach has provided valuable insights into the dynamics of vocal tract shaping and motion of all major articulators. In this work, we acquire multiple arbitrary scan planes in time-interleaved fashion, which provides the ability to capture new features such as grooving/doming of the tongue, asymmetries in tongue shape, and lateral shaping of the pharyngeal wall. This approach also facilitates tracking of the slice plane based on partial saturation effects.

Wilfried Reichardt¹, Christian van Oterendorp², Dominik von Elverfeldt¹, and Luis Diaz-Santana^3
1Dept. of Radiology, Medical Physics, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany, ²University Eye Hospital, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany, ³Optometry and Visual Science, City University London, London, United Kingdom

We performed in vivo high-resolution MR imaging to determine values for thickness, curvatures of the optic components and size of the lens and cornea. For this we used 3D MR imaging in combination with specific sequences that allow spatially highly resolved images of the optical apparatus. Further on, we performed image post-processing to create a theoretical model for the rat eye that can aid in the development of high-resolution retinal imaging devices for rodents

Jacobus F.A. Jansen¹, Yonggang Lu², Hilda E Stambuk², Nancy Y Lee², Jason A Koutcher², and Amita Shukla-Dave^2
1Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ²MSKCC, NY, NY, United States

The study aims to assess the added value of non-Gaussian analysis of diffusion weighted MR imaging (DWI) for the prediction of the short-term response to chemoradiation therapy in patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Twenty-three patients were included, who all underwent a DWI protocol with 7 b-values at 1.5T. Non-Gaussian fitting was applied using the kurtosis model. DWI parameters derived from standard mono-exponential fitting and kurtosis analysis were evaluated for their efficacy in predicting short-term response using logistic regression analysis. The std(Dapp) was a significant predictor for short-term response, suggesting that non-Gaussian analysis provided a predictive biomarker.

Jacobus F.A. Jansen¹, Yonggang Lu², Hilda E Stambuk², Nancy Y Lee², Jason A Koutcher², and Amita Shukla-Dave^2
1Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ²MSKCC, NY, NY, United States

An advantage of the noninvasive MRI technique is that subjects can be imagined multiple times before, during and, after treatment. In this study we assess the value of DCE-MRI derived perfusion/permeability biomarkers in predicting the short-term response to therapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with neck nodal metastases. Sixteen patients underwent a DCE-MRI protocol before, and 10-14 days into the chemoradiation treatment. Pretreatment and early response DCE-MRI parameters were compared, and their efficacy in predicting short-term response to treatment was tested using logistic regression analysis. Pretreatment ve was a significant predictor of response. However, early response DCE marginally improves prediction of short-term response in head and neck cancer.