Pharmacological modulation of the BOLD response: a study of acetazolamide and glyceryl trinitrate in humans

Purpose:

To examine the effect of acetazolamide, known to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) and glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), known to increase cerebral blood volume (CBV) on the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) response in humans using 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to evaluate how pharmacological agents may modulate cerebral hemodynamic and thereby possibly the BOLD signal.

Materials and Methods:

Six subjects were randomly allocated to receive acetazolamide, GTN, or placebo in a double‐blind three‐way crossover controlled study. Before, during, and after drug administration we recorded the BOLD response during visual stimulation with reversing checkerboard.

Results:

We found that acetazolamide caused significant depression of the BOLD response (P = 0.0066). The maximum decrease occurred at 5 minutes after infusion and was 51.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.03–81.76). GTN did not influence the BOLD response (P = 0.55).

Conclusion:

The BOLD response is decreased during increased CBF by acetazolamide, suggesting an inverse relationship between global CBF and the BOLD response. GTN does not change the BOLD response. This indicates that GTN exerts an effect on the large vessels only and that CBV changes in the microvascular system are necessary to alter the BOLD response. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Signal-to-noise ratio enhancement of intermolecular double-quantum coherence MR spectroscopy in inhomogeneous fields with phased array coils on a 3 Tesla whole-body scanner

Purpose

To improve signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) of intermolecular double‐quantum coherence (iDQC) MRS on a 3 Tesla (T) whole‐body scanner.

Materials and Methods

A 32‐channel phased array coil was used to acquire iDQC signal of a MRS phantom in the presence of large field inhomogeneity. The obtained individual spectra from the array elements were combined together in the time domain using a multichannel nonparametric singular value decomposition algorithm. The results were compared quantitatively with those acquired with a circularly polarized (CP) head coil.

Results

The achieved gain in SNR ranges from 1.63 to 2.10 relative to the CP coil, mainly depending on the relative position between the surface of the phased array coil and the voxel of acquisition.

Conclusion

SNR enhancement of iDQC MRS in inhomogeneous fields on a 3T whole‐body scanner is feasible with phased array coils. This can facilitate iDQC applications of high‐resolution in vivo spectroscopy in the presence of field inhomogeneity for potential disease diagnosis in humans. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;33:698–703. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Cerebral blood flow estimation in vivo using local tissue reference functions

Purpose

To evaluate the use of bolus signals obtained from tissue as reference functions (or local reference functions [LRFs]) rather than arterial input functions (AIFs) when deriving cross‐calibrated cerebral blood flow (CBF_CC) estimates via deconvolution.

Materials and Methods

AIF and white matter (WM) LRF CBF_CC maps (cross‐calibrated so that normal WM was 23.7 mL/minute/100 g) derived using singular value decomposition (SVD) were examined in 28 ischemic stroke patients. Median CBF_CC estimates from normal gray matter (GM) and ischemic tissue were obtained.

Results

AIF and LRF median CBF_CC estimates resembled one another for all 28 patients (average paired CBF_CC difference 0.4 ± 1.7 mL/minute/100 g and –0.4 ± 1.4 mL/minute/100 g in GM and ischemic tissue, respectively). Wilcoxon signed‐rank comparisons of patient median CBF_CC measurements revealed no statistically significant differences between using AIFs and LRFs (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

If CBF is quantified using a patient‐specific cross‐calibration factor, then LRF CBF estimates are at least as accurate as those from AIFs. Therefore, until AIF quantification is achievable in vivo, perfusion protocols tailored for LRFs would simplify the methodology and provide more reliable perfusion information. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:183–188. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Quantification of the magnetic resonance signal response to dynamic (C)O2‐enhanced imaging in the brain at 3 T: R*2 BOLD vs. balanced SSFP

Purpose:

To compare two magnetic resonance (MR) contrast mechanisms, R*₂ BOLD and balanced SSFP, for the dynamic monitoring of the cerebral response to (C)O₂ respiratory challenges.

Materials and Methods:

Carbogen and CO₂‐enriched air were delivered to 9 healthy volunteers and 1 glioblastoma patient. The cerebral response was recorded by two‐dimensional (2D) dynamic multi‐gradient‐echo and passband‐balanced steady‐state free precession (bSSFP) sequences, and local changes of R*₂ and signal intensity were investigated. Detection sensitivity was analyzed by statistical tests. An exponential signal model was fitted to the global response function delivered by each sequence, enabling quantitative comparison of the amplitude and temporal behavior.

Results:

The bSSFP signal changes during carbogen and CO₂/air inhalation were lower compared with R*₂ BOLD (ca. 5% as opposed to 8–13%). The blood‐oxygen‐level‐dependent (BOLD) response amplitude enabled differentiation between carbogen and CO₂/air by a factor of 1.4–1.6, in contrast to bSSFP, where differentiation was not possible. Furthermore, motion robustness and detection sensitivity were higher for R*₂ BOLD.

Conclusion:

Both contrast mechanisms are well suited to dynamic (C)O₂‐enhanced MR imaging, although the R*₂ BOLD mechanism was demonstrated to be superior in several respects for the chosen application. This study suggests that the R*₂ BOLD and bSSFP‐response characteristics are related to different physiologic mechanisms. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;31:1300–1310. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Fat suppression with short inversion time inversion‐recovery and chemical‐shift selective saturation: A dual STIR‐CHESS combination prepulse for turbo spin echo pulse sequences

Purpose:

To test a newly developed fat suppression magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prepulse that synergistically uses the principles of fat suppression via inversion recovery (STIR) and spectral fat saturation (CHESS), relative to pure CHESS and STIR. This new technique is termed dual fat suppression (Dual‐FS).

Materials and Methods:

To determine if Dual‐FS could be chemically specific for fat, the phantom consisted of the fat‐mimicking NiCl₂ aqueous solution, porcine fat, porcine muscle, and water was imaged with the three fat‐suppression techniques. For Dual‐FS and STIR, several inversion times were used. Signal intensities of each image obtained with each technique were compared. To determine if Dual‐FS could be robust to magnetic field inhomogeneities, the phantom consisting of different NiCl₂ aqueous solutions, porcine fat, porcine muscle, and water was imaged with Dual‐FS and CHESS at the several off‐resonance frequencies. To compare fat suppression efficiency in vivo, 10 volunteer subjects were also imaged with the three fat‐suppression techniques.

Results:

Dual‐FS could suppress fat sufficiently within the inversion time of 110–140 msec, thus enabling differentiation between fat and fat‐mimicking aqueous structures. Dual‐FS was as robust to magnetic field inhomogeneities as STIR and less vulnerable than CHESS. The same results for fat suppression were obtained in volunteers.

Conclusion:

The Dual‐FS‐STIR‐CHESS is an alternative and promising fat suppression technique for turbo spin echo MRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;31:1277–1281. ©2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Quantitative BOLD: the effect of diffusion

Purpose:

To make the quantitative blood oxygenation level‐dependent (qBOLD) method more suitable for clinical application by accounting for proton diffusion and reducing acquisition times.

Materials and Methods:

Monte Carlo methods are used to simulate the signal from diffusing protons in the presence of a blood vessel network. A diffusive qBOLD model was then constructed using a lookup table of the results. Acquisition times are reduced by parallel imaging and by employing an integrated fieldmapping method, rather than running an additional sequence.

Results:

The addition of diffusion to the model is shown to have a significant impact on predicted signal formation. This is found to affect all fitted parameters when the model is applied to real data. Parallel imaging and integrated fieldmapping allowed the GESSE (gradient echo sampling of a spin echo) acquisition to be made in less than 10 minutes while maintaining high signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR).

Conclusion:

By incorporating integrated field mapping and parallel imaging techniques, GESSE data were acquired within clinically acceptable acquisition times. These data fit closely to the diffusive qBOLD model, providing more realistic and robust measurements of T₂ and blood oxygenation than the static model. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;32:953–961. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with retrospective motion correction for large-scale pediatric imaging

Purpose:

To develop and implement a clinical DTI technique suitable for the pediatric setting that retrospectively corrects for large motion without the need for rescanning and/or reacquisition strategies, and to deliver high‐quality DTI images (both in the presence and absence of large motion) using procedures that reduce image noise and artifacts.

Materials and Methods:

We implemented an in‐house built generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA)‐accelerated diffusion tensor (DT) echo‐planar imaging (EPI) sequence at 1.5T and 3T on 1600 patients between 1 month and 18 years old. To reconstruct the data, we developed a fully automated tailored reconstruction software that selects the best GRAPPA and ghost calibration weights; does 3D rigid‐body realignment with importance weighting; and employs phase correction and complex averaging to lower Rician noise and reduce phase artifacts. For select cases we investigated the use of an additional volume rejection criterion and b‐matrix correction for large motion.

Results:

The DTI image reconstruction procedures developed here were extremely robust in correcting for motion, failing on only three subjects, while providing the radiologists high‐quality data for routine evaluation.

Conclusion:

This work suggests that, apart from the rare instance of continuous motion throughout the scan, high‐quality DTI brain data can be acquired using our proposed integrated sequence and reconstruction that uses a retrospective approach to motion correction. In addition, we demonstrate a substantial improvement in overall image quality by combining phase correction with complex averaging, which reduces the Rician noise that biases noisy data. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;36:961–971. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Conjunction analysis and propositional logic in fMRI data analysis using Bayesian statistics

Purpose

To evaluate logical expressions over different effects in data analyses using the general linear model (GLM) and to evaluate logical expressions over different posterior probability maps (PPMs).

Materials and Methods

In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data analysis, the GLM was applied to estimate unknown regression parameters. Based on the GLM, Bayesian statistics can be used to determine the probability of conjunction, disjunction, implication, or any other arbitrary logical expression over different effects or contrast. For second‐level inferences, PPMs from individual sessions or subjects are utilized. These PPMs can be combined to a logical expression and its probability can be computed. The methods proposed in this article are applied to data from a STROOP experiment and the methods are compared to conjunction analysis approaches for test‐statistics.

Results

The combination of Bayesian statistics with propositional logic provides a new approach for data analyses in fMRI. Two different methods are introduced for propositional logic: the first for analyses using the GLM and the second for common inferences about different probability maps.

Conclusion

The methods introduced extend the idea of conjunction analysis to a full propositional logic and adapt it from test‐statistics to Bayesian statistics. The new approaches allow inferences that are not possible with known standard methods in fMRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;28:1533–1539. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Fat-referenced MR thermometry in the breast and prostate using IDEAL

Purpose:

To demonstrate a three‐echo fat‐referenced MR thermometry technique that estimates and corrects for time‐varying phase disturbances in heterogeneous tissues.

Materials and Methods:

Fat protons do not exhibit a temperature‐dependent frequency shift. Fat‐referenced thermometry methods exploit this insensitivity and use the signal from fat to measure and correct for magnetic field disturbances. In this study, we present a fat‐referenced method that uses interpolation of the fat signal to correct for phase disturbances in fat free regions. Phantom and ex vivo tissue cool‐down experiments were performed to evaluate the accuracy of this method in the absence of motion. Non‐heated in vivo imaging of the breast and prostate was performed to demonstrate measurement robustness in the presence of systemic and motion‐induced field disturbances. Measurement accuracy of the method was compared to conventional proton resonance frequency shift MR thermometry.

Results:

In the ex vivo porcine tissue experiment, maximum measurement error of the fat‐referenced method was reduced 42% from 3.3 to 1.9°C when compared to conventional MR thermometry. In the breasts, measurement errors were reduced by up to 70% from 6.4 to 1.9°C.

Conclusion:

Ex vivo and in vivo results show that the proposed method reduces measurement errors in the heterogeneous tissue experiments when compared to conventional MR thermometry. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;36:722–732. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Comparison of lymph node metastases assessment With the use of USPIO‐enhanced MR imaging at 1.5 T versus 3.0 T in a rabbit model

Purpose:

To prospectively compare the diagnostic performances of 1.5 T and 3.0 T ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO)‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of lymph node (LN) metastases in a rabbit model.

Materials and Methods:

Experiments were approved by the animal care committee. VX2 carcinomas were implanted into the thighs of 18 rabbits 3 or 4 weeks before MRI examinations. T2*‐weighted 1.5 T and 3.0 T MRI was performed 24 hours after USPIO (2.6 mg/kg iron) administration. Two radiologists calculated signal intensity (SI) ratios (ie, the ratios of postcontrast to precontrast signal intensity) of each LN and also evaluated for the presence of a metastasis in the iliac and retroperitoneal LNs at 1.5 T and 3.0 T MRI. Student's t‐test, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and a Z test were used for the statistical analysis.

Results:

Metastases were confirmed in 45 of 80 LNs by histopathology. For benign LNs the mean SI ratio at 1.5 T was higher (0.538) than at 3.0 T (0.463) (P = 0.004). In qualitative analysis, 1.5 T and 3.0 T USPIO‐enhanced MRI showed similar Az values (0.951 vs. 0.939; P = 0.296). The specificity of 3.0 T USPIO‐enhanced MRI was higher (91.4% [32 of 35]) than that of 1.5 T imaging (82.9% [29 of 35]) (P = 0.013); however, the sensitivities (88.9% [40 of 45]) were the same in the both modalities.

Conclusion:

3.0 T USPIO‐enhanced MRI shows a higher specificity as compared to 1.5 T imaging without a significant difference of sensitivity in a rabbit VX2 model. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;31:134–141. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Robust mapping of the myelin water fraction in the presence of noise: synergic combination of anisotropic diffusion filter and spatially regularized nonnegative least squares algorithm

Purpose:

To improve the mapping of myelin water fraction (MWF) despite the presence of measurement noise, and to increase the visibility of fine structures in MWF maps.

Materials and Methods:

An anisotropic diffusion filter (ADF) was effectively combined with a spatially regularized nonnegative least squares algorithm (srNNLS) for robust MWF mapping. Synthetic data simulations were performed to assess the effectiveness of this new method. Experimental measurements of signal decay curves were obtained and MWF maps were estimated using the new method and compared with maps estimated using other methods.

Results:

MWF mapping was substantially improved in both simulations and experimental data when ADF was combined with the srNNLS algorithm. MWF variability decreased with the use of the proposed method, which in turn resulted in increased visibility of small focal lesions and structures in the MWF maps.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates that the benefits of ADF and srNNLS algorithms can be effectively combined in a synergic way for robust mapping of MWF in the presence of noise. Substantial improvements to MWF mapping can be made using the proposed method. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Preliminary observations and diagnostic value of lipid peak in ovarian thecomas/fibrothecomas using in vivo proton MR spectroscopy at 3T

Purpose:

To retrospectively evaluate the significance of lipid peak in in vivo proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy for the diagnosis of ovarian thecomas/fibrothecomas in patients with solid gynecologic tumors exhibiting totally or partially low signal intensity on T2‐weighted images.

Materials and Methods:

MR spectroscopy was performed in patients with pathologically diagnosed gynecologic tumors at 3T MRI. Single‐voxel MR spectroscopy data were collected from a single square volume of interest that encompassed the gynecologic masses. The lipid concentration level was classified into three classes (high; low; none).

Results:

A total of 20 gynecologic tumors in 20 patients were evaluated in this study. High lipid peak was observed in all seven thecomas/fibrothecomas, whereas low lipid peak was observed in only one fibroma in 13 nonthecomatous tumors (six benign ovarian tumors and seven subserosal uterine leiomyomas). The presence of lipid peak for the diagnosis of thecomas/fibrothecomas had a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 92%, positive predictive value of 88%, and negative predictive value of 100%.

Conclusion:

The high lipid peak reflecting abundant intracellular lipid contents is considered a specific metabolite concentration for thecomas/fibrothecomas. Demonstration of high lipid peak may contribute to the diagnosis of thecomas/fibrothecomas in distinguishing from other benign ovarian fibrous tumors or subserosal uterine leiomyomas. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;36:907–911. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI findings of early hepatocellular carcinoma as defined by new histologic criteria

Purpose:

To describe the imaging features of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on gadoxetic acid‐enhanced MRI (Gd‐EOB‐MRI) in comparison with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) examinations.

Materials and Methods:

We analyzed imaging findings of 19 pathologically proven early HCC lesions in 15 patients who underwent both MDCT and Gd‐EOB‐MRI at 3.0 Tesla (T) units before surgery. MRI included in‐phase and out‐of‐phase T1‐weighted dual‐echo gradient‐recalled‐echo sequences, dynamic T1‐weighted images before and after bolus injection of gadoxetic acid disodium, fat‐saturated T2‐weighted fast spin‐echo sequences, and T1‐weighted hepatobiliary phase images 20 min after contrast injection. Two radiologists retrospectively evaluated the signal intensities and enhancement features on MRI and MDCT.

Results:

None of the lesions displayed arterial enhancement and washout on MDCT. On Gd‐EOB‐MRI, six (32%) lesions showed T2‐hyperintensity, five (26%) lesions showed signal drop on opposed‐phase. Three lesions (16%) showed arterial enhancement and washout. Twelve (63%), 13 (68%), and 15 (79%) lesions were hypointense on hepatic venous, equilibrium, and hepatobiliary phase, respectively.

Conclusion:

Most early HCCs did not show arterial enhancement and washout pattern on both MDCT and Gd‐EOB‐MRI. Gd‐EOB‐MRI may provide several ancillary findings for diagnosis of early HCC such as decreased hepatobiliary uptake, T2 hyperintensity and signal drop in opposed phase. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;393‐398. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Diffusion tensor imaging tractography parameters of limbic system bundles in temporal lobe epilepsy patients

Purpose:

To investigate changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures in limbic system white matter of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) using diffusion tensor tractography.

Materials and Methods:

DTI metrics including fractional anisotropy (FA), λ1, λ2, λ3, and trace (Tr) coefficients were obtained from tractography for bilateral fornix, superior and inferior cingulum fibers in 18 patients and 10 healthy controls. Hippocampal signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) quantitative analysis was performed in order to confirm the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) hippocampal lesion presence or absence in TLE patients.

Results:

Nine patients presented unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (TLE+HS) and nine patients had no signal abnormalities on conventional MRI (TLE?HS). On the ipsilateral seizure side, all three investigated tracts showed significant DTI indices abnormalities in both patient groups when compared with controls, most marked on the inferior cingulum. Contralateral to the seizure side, the three tracts presented significant DTI parameters in only the TLE+HS group when compared with controls.

Conclusion:

The DTI abnormalities found in the TLE?HS group may suggest that in the inferior cingulum the structural integrity is more affected than in the fornix or superior cingulum white matter bundles. The eigenvalues taken separately add complementary information to the FA and Tr metrics and may be useful indices in better understanding the architectural reorganization of limbic system tracts in TLE patients without HS. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;36:561–568. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

     

Imaging of blood flow using hyperpolarized [(13)C]urea in preclinical cancer models

Purpose:

To demonstrate dynamic imaging of a diffusible perfusion tracer, hyperpolarized [¹³C]urea, for regional measurement of blood flow in preclinical cancer models.

Materials and Methods:

A pulse sequence using balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) was developed, with progressively increasing flip angles for efficient sampling of the hyperpolarized magnetization. This allowed temporal and volumetric imaging of the [¹³C]urea signal. Regional signal dynamics were quantified for kidneys and liver, and estimates of relative blood flows were derived from the data. Detailed perfusion simulations were performed to validate the methodology.

Results:

Significant differences were observed in the signal patterns between normal and cancerous murine hepatic tissues. In particular, a 19% reduction in mean blood flow was observed in tumors, with 26% elevation in the tumor rim. The blood flow maps were also compared with metabolic imaging results with hyperpolarized [1‐¹³C]pyruvate.

Conclusion:

Regional assessment of perfusion is possible by imaging of hyperpolarized [¹³C]urea, which is significant for the imaging of cancer. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;33:692–697. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Early (72-hour) detection of radiotherapy-induced changes in an experimental tumor model using diffusion-weighted imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and Q-space imaging parameters: a comparative study

Purpose:

To assess and compare the potential of various diffusion‐related magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters to detect early radiotherapy (RT)‐induced changes in tumors.

Materials and Methods:

Nineteen tumors in a rat model were imaged on a clinical 3T system before and 72 hours after a single RT session. Diffusion imaging was performed using an echo planar sequence containing 16 b‐factors and six gradient directions. This allowed us to perform a tensor analysis of mono‐ and biexponential decays and a q‐space analysis. Parametric maps (both trace and fractional anisotropy) were reconstructed for: 2‐point apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), 16‐point ADC, biexponential amplitudes and ADCs, and height, width, and kurtosis of the probability density function (PDF). A texture analysis yielded quantities such as average and contrast. The sensitivity of diffusion‐related parameters was quantified in terms of the mean relative difference (when comparing pre‐ and post‐RT status).

Results:

Traces and anisotropies display differences in response to RT. Average traces are most sensitive for ADCs and kurtosis. Average anisotropies are all very sensitive except the slow biexponential component. The best contrast (traces) was found for the ADCs and the width of the PDF.

Conclusion:

ADC performed well, but high b‐values analysis added extra sensitive parameters for monitoring early RT‐induced changes. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;409‐417. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reducing the impact of white matter lesions on automated measures of brain gray and white matter volumes

Purpose:

To develop an automated lesion‐filling technique (LEAP; LEsion Automated Preprocessing) that would reduce lesion‐associated brain tissue segmentation bias (which is known to affect automated brain gray [GM] and white matter [WM] tissue segmentations in people who have multiple sclerosis), and a WM lesion simulation tool with which to test it.

Materials and Methods:

Simulated lesions with differing volumes and signal intensities were added to volumetric brain images from three healthy subjects and then automatically filled with values approximating normal WM. We tested the effects of simulated lesions and lesion‐filling correction with LEAP on SPM‐derived tissue volume estimates.

Results:

GM and WM tissue volume estimates were affected by the presence of WM lesions. With simulated lesion volumes of 15 mL at 70% of normal WM intensity, the effect was to increase GM fractional (relative to intracranial) volumes by ≈2.3%, and reduce WM fractions by ≈3.6%. Lesion filling reduced these errors to ≈0.1%.

Conclusion:

The effect of WM lesions on automated GM and WM volume measures may be considerable and thereby obscure real disease‐mediated volume changes. Lesion filling with values approximating normal WM enables more accurate GM and WM volume measures and should be applicable to structural scans independently of the software used for the segmentation. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Minimum detectable change in motor and prefrontal cortex activity over repeated sessions using 3T functional MRI and a block design

Purpose

To determine the minimum detectable change (MDC) in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements of brain activity over repeated sessions with 95% confidence using a block design of tasks.

Materials and Methods

Fourteen individuals participated in three sessions on different days during which four scans each of a motor task and working memory task were performed. Using a region‐of‐interest analysis of variance, we calculated the MDC in the volume of activated primary sensorimotor cortex (for motor) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (for working memory), as well as the percent increase in MR signal and the center and location of maxima of the activated voxels.

Results

The MDC of activated volume was 5.0–8.8 cm³, and the MDC of percent increase in signal from baseline during tasks was 0.3%–0.6%. The MDC of the center of mass of activity was 3–4 mm, compared to 6–10 mm for the location of maxima.

Conclusion

fMRI measurements that quantify the strength of activity in response to tasks and centers of mass offer sensitive measurements of change over repeated imaging sessions. fMRI can be used for serial investigations of individual participants using simple motor and cognitive tasks using a simple block design. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;28:1055–1060. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Evaluation of the keyhole technique applied to the proton resonance frequency method for magnetic resonance temperature imaging

Purpose:

To evaluate the temporal and spatial resolution of magnetic resonance (MR) temperature imaging when using the proton resonance frequency (PRF) method combined with the keyhole technique.

Materials and Methods:

Tissue‐mimicking phantom and swine muscle tissue were microwave‐heated by a coaxial slot antenna. For the sake of MR hardware safety, MR images were sequentially acquired after heating the subjects using a spoiled gradient (SPGR) pulse sequence. Reference raw (k‐space) data were collected before heating the subjects. Keyhole temperature images were reconstructed from full k‐space data synthesized by combining the peripheral phase‐encoding part of the reference raw data and the center phase‐encoding keyhole part of the time sequential raw data. Each keyhole image was analyzed with thermal error, and the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) was compared with the self‐reference (nonkeyhole) images according to the number of keyhole phase‐encoding (keyhole‐data size) portions.

Results:

In applied keyhole temperature images, smaller keyhole‐data sizes led to more temperature error increases, but the SNR did not decreased comparably. Additionally, keyhole images with a keyhole‐data size of <16 had significantly different temperatures compared with fully phase‐encoded self‐reference images (P < 0.05).

Conclusion:

The keyhole technique combined with the PRF method improves temporal resolution and SNR in the measurement of the temperature in the deeper parts of body in real time. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

MR imaging findings of early bile duct cancer

Purpose

To retrospectively evaluate the MR imaging features of early bile duct cancer and to correlate them with the clinicopathologic findings.

Materials and Methods

This retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board, and informed consent was waived. Seventeen patients with surgically proven early bile duct cancer who had undergone preoperative MR cholangiopancreatography with gadolinium‐enhanced MR imaging, were included in this study. Two, experienced radiologists evaluated the MR images in consensus regarding the following findings: tumor number and morphology; signal intensity of the tumor; sharpness of the outer border of the bile duct wall; enhancement pattern of the tumor; and the presence of enlarged peribiliary lymph nodes. Another radiologist measured the SNR of the tumor and bile duct wall on gadolinium‐enhanced MRI during the dynamic phases to evaluate the tumor enhancement degree.

Results

In all patients, MR imaging demonstrated single or multiple intraluminal bile duct masses showing a sharply defined outer margin. The most common enhancement pattern of the biliary lesions showed heterogeneous amorphous enhancement or heterogeneous enhancement with central, dot‐like structures or vascular structures (76.5%, 13/17 patients). The difference of SNR between bile duct and tumor was greatest in the equilibrium phase (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

MRCP combined with dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI can be useful for detecting early bile duct cancers. Common MR findings of early bile duct cancer include one or more inhomogeneously enhancing intraductal masses with clear outer margins and preservation of the bile duct wall. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;28:1466–1475. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.