Electromagnetic simulation of RF burn injuries occurring at skin-skin and skin-bore wall contact points in an MRI scanner with a birdcage coil.

PURPOSE: To simulate radiofrequency (RF) burns that frequently occur at skin-skin and skin-bore wall contact points. METHODS: RF burn injuries (thumb-thigh and elbow-bore wall contacts) that typically occur on the lateral side of the body during 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were simulated using a computational human model. The model was shifted to investigate the influence of the position of the patient in an MRI scanner. The specific absorption rate (SAR), electric field, and temperature were mapped. RESULTS: Regarding the contact points located near the edge of the birdcage transmission coil, under the allowable maximum RF power exposure i.e., the average whole-body SAR at the safety limit value (2 W/kg), the 10-g-tissue-averaged SAR (SAR10g) at those points significantly increased for both the thumb-thigh (180 W/kg) and elbow-bore wall (48 W/kg) cases. Both values significantly exceeded the highest safety limit of the partial-body SAR (10 W/kg). The electric field, the square of which is proportional to SAR, was remarkably high near the edge of the birdcage transmission coil. The peak SAR10g for each injury case was associated with contact-point peak temperatures that reached 52 °C at approximately 1 min following RF exposure onset; a 1-min period of exposure to this temperature causes a first-degree burn. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated high heat generation in RF burn injury cases in silico. The RF heating occurring on the lateral side of the body was strongly dependent on the electric field distribution, which is dominantly determined by an RF transmission coil.

Effect of hybrid of compressed sensing and parallel imaging on the quantitative values measured by 3D quantitative synthetic MRI: A phantom study.

INTRODUCTION: Recently, three-dimensional (3D) quantitative synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which quantifies tissue properties and creates multiple contrast-weighted images, has been enabled by 3D-quantification using an interleaved Look-Locker acquisition sequence with a T2 preparation pulse (3D-QALAS). However, the relatively long scan time has hindered its introduction into clinical practice. A hybrid of compressed sensing and parallel imaging (Compressed sensing-sensitivity encoding: CS-SENSE) can accelerate 3D-QALAS; however, whether CS-SENSE affects the quantitative values acquired by 3D-QALAS remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of reduction factors of CS-SENSE (RCSS) on the quantitative values derived from 3D-QALAS, by assessing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the quantitative maps, as well as accuracy (linearity and bias) and repeatability of measured quantitative values. METHODS: In this study, the ISMRM/NIST standardized phantom was scanned on a 1.5-T MRI scanner with 3D-QALAS using RCSS in the range between 1 and 3, with intervals of 0.2, and between 3 and 10 with intervals of 0.5. The T1, T2, and proton density (PD) values were calculated from the imaging data. For each quantitative value, the SNR, the coefficient of determination (R2) of a linear regression model, the error rate, and the within-subject coefficient of variation (wCV) were calculated for each RCSS and compared. RESULTS: Within the clinically-relevant dynamic range of the brain of T1 and T2 (T1: 200-1400 ms; T2; 50-400 ms) and PD value of 15-100% calculated from 3D-QALAS, the effects of RCSS on quantitative values was small between 1 and 2.8, with SNR ≧ 10, R2 ≧ 0.9, error rate ≦ 10%, and wCV ≦ 10%, except for T2 values of 186.1 and 258.4 ms. CONCLUSIONS: CS-SENSE enabled the reduction of the scan time of 3D-QALAS by 63.5% (RCSS = 2.8) while maintaining the SNR of quantitative maps and accuracy and repeatability of the quantitative values.

Aberrant myelination in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome analyzed using synthetic quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.

PURPOSE: Accelerated myelination in the affected hemisphere has been demonstrated previously in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS). This prospective study investigated myelin-related changes in patients with unilateral SWS using synthetic quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI). METHODS: Fourteen children with unilateral SWS were categorized according to age, i.e., ≤ 2 years (group A, n = 5, mean age 1.1 years, 3 males) and > 2 years (group B, n = 9, mean age 3.9 years, 4 males). All children underwent two-dimensional synthetic qMRI. The myelin volume in the cerebral hemisphere and white matter (WM) myelin volume fraction (MVF), proton density (PD), R1 and R2 relaxation rates ipsilateral to the leptomeningeal enhancement, and/or a port-wine birthmark were compared with the corresponding values in the contralateral hemisphere. RESULTS: In group A, 3 patients had a higher myelin volume in the ipsilateral hemisphere and a higher MVF, R1, and R2 and lower PD in the ipsilateral WM than on the contralateral side; the findings were the opposite in the remaining two patients. All patients in group B had a significantly lower myelin volume in the ipsilateral hemisphere (P < 0.05) and a lower MVF and R1 and higher PD in the ipsilateral WM than on the contralateral side (P < 0.0125). CONCLUSION: Higher estimated myelin was observed on the ipsilateral side in some patients aged ≤ 2 years and lower myelin on the ipsilateral side in all older patients. Synthetic qMRI might be useful for showing myelin-related abnormalities in SWS.

Linearity, Bias, Intrascanner Repeatability, and Interscanner Reproducibility of Quantitative Multidynamic Multiecho Sequence for Rapid Simultaneous Relaxometry at 3 T: A Validation Study With a Standardized Phantom and Healthy Controls.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the linearity, bias, intrascanner repeatability, and interscanner reproducibility of quantitative values derived from a multidynamic multiecho (MDME) sequence for rapid simultaneous relaxometry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The NIST/ISMRM (National Institute of Standards and Technology/International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine) phantom, containing spheres with standardized T1 and T2 relaxation times and proton density (PD), and 10 healthy volunteers, were scanned 10 times on different days and 2 times during the same session, using the MDME sequence, on three 3 T scanners from different vendors. For healthy volunteers, brain volumetry and myelin estimation were performed based on the measured T1, T2, and PD. The measured phantom values were compared with reference values; volunteer values were compared with their averages across 3 scanners. RESULTS: The linearity of both phantom and volunteer measurements in T1, T2, and PD values was very strong (R = 0.973-1.000, 0.979-1.000, and 0.982-0.999, respectively) The highest intrascanner coefficients of variation (CVs) for T1, T2, and PD were 2.07%, 7.60%, and 12.86% for phantom data, and 1.33%, 0.89%, and 0.77% for volunteer data, respectively. The highest interscanner CVs of T1, T2, and PD were 10.86%, 15.27%, and 9.95% for phantom data, and 3.15%, 5.76%, and 3.21% for volunteer data, respectively. Variation of T1 and T2 tended to be larger at higher values outside the range of those typically observed in brain tissue. The highest intrascanner and interscanner CVs for brain tissue volumetry were 2.50% and 5.74%, respectively, for cerebrospinal fluid. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative values derived from the MDME sequence are overall robust for brain relaxometry and volumetry on 3 T scanners from different vendors. Caution is warranted when applying MDME sequence on anatomies with relaxometry values outside the range of those typically observed in brain tissue.

Benzo[c,d]indole-Containing Aza-BODIPY Dyes: Asymmetrization-Induced Solid-State Emission and Aggregation-Induced Emission Enhancement as New Properties of a Well-Known Chromophore.

A series of symmetric and asymmetric benzo[c,d]indole-containing aza boron dipyrromethene (aza-BODIPY) compounds was synthesized by a titanium tetrachloride-mediated Schiff-base formation reaction of commercially available benzo[c,d]indole-2(1H)-one and heteroaromatic amines. These aza-BODIPY analogues show different electronic structures from those of regular aza-BODIPYs, with hypsochromic shifts of the main absorption compared to their BODIPY counterparts. In addition to the intense fluorescence in solution, asymmetric compounds exhibited solid-state fluorescence due to significant contribution of the vibronic bands to both absorption and fluorescence as well as reduced fluorescence quenching in the aggregates. Finally, aggregation-induced emission enhancement, which is rare in BODIPY chromophores, was achieved by introducing a nonconjugated moiety into the core structure.

Development of the crosslinking reactions to RNA triggered by oxidation.

A novel crosslink-forming nucleobase, 2-amino-6-(1-ethylthiovinyl)purine (ATVP), which is triggered by the oxidation of sulfide to sulfoxide, has been developed. The oxidation of ATVP within the duplex proceeded with H2O2 and FeCl2. We have successfully developed the crosslinking reactions activated by oxidation.