Improved diffusion tensor imaging of the optic nerve using multishot two-dimensional navigated acquisitions.

PURPOSE: A diffusion-weighted multishot echo-planar imaging approach combined with SENSE and a two-dimensional (2D) navigated motion correction was investigated as an alternative to conventional single-shot counterpart to obtain optic nerve images at higher spatial resolution with reduced artifacts. METHODS: Fifteen healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Six of these subjects underwent a repeated acquisition at least 2 weeks after the initial scan session to address reproducibility. Both single-shot and multishot diffusion tensor imaging studies of the human optic nerve were performed with matched scan time. Effect of subject motions were corrected using 2D phase navigator during multishot image reconstruction. Tensor-derived indices from proposed multishot were compared against conventional single-shot approach. Image resolution difference, right-left optic nerve asymmetry, and test-retest reproducibility were also assessed. RESULTS: In vivo results of acquired multishot images and quantitative maps of diffusion properties of the optic nerve showed significantly reduced image artifacts (e.g., distortions and blurring), and the derived diffusion indices were comparable to those from other studies. Single-shot scans presented larger variability between right and left optic nerves than multishot scans. Multishot scans also presented smaller variations across scans at different time points when compared with single-shot counterparts. CONCLUSION: The multishot technique has considerable potential for providing improved information on optic nerve pathology and may also be translated to higher fields.

Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging of human brain at 7 T.

Quantitative magnetization transfer (qMT) imaging yields indices describing the interactions between free water protons and immobile macromolecular protons. These indices include the macromolecular to free pool size ratio (PSR), which has been shown to be correlated with myelin content in white matter. Because of the long scan times required for whole-brain imaging (≈20-30 min), qMT studies of the human brain have not found widespread application. Herein, we investigated whether the increased signal-to-noise ratio available at 7.0 T could be used to reduce qMT scan times. More specifically, we developed a selective inversion recovery (SIR) qMT imaging protocol with a i) novel transmit radiofrequency (B(1)(+)) and static field (B(0)) insensitive inversion pulse, ii) turbo field-echo readout, and iii) reduced TR. In vivo qMT data were obtained in the brains of healthy volunteers at 7.0 T using the resulting protocol (scan time≈40 s/slice, resolution=2 × 2 × 3 mm(3)). Reliability was also assessed in repeated acquisitions. The results of this study demonstrate that SIR qMT imaging can be reliably performed within the radiofrequency power restrictions present at 7.0 T, even in the presence of large B(1)(+) and B(0) inhomogeneities. Consistent with qMT studies at lower field strengths, the observed PSR values were higher in white matter (mean±SD=17.6 ± 1.3%) relative to gray matter (10.3 ± 1.6%) at 7.0 T. In addition, regional variations in PSR were observed in white matter. Together, these results suggest that qMT measurements are feasible at 7.0 T and may eventually allow for the high-resolution assessment of changes in composition throughout the normal and diseased human brain in vivo.