RESUMO
The spectral quality of magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) can be affected by strong magnetic field inhomogeneities, posing a challenge for 3D-MRSI's widespread clinical use with standard scanner-equipped 2nd-order shim coils. To overcome this, we designed an empirical unified shim-RF head coil (32-ch RF receive and 51-ch shim) for 3D-MRSI improvement. We compared its shimming performance and 3D-MRSI brain coverages against the standard scanner shim (2nd-order spherical harmonic (SH) shim coils) and integrated parallel reception, excitation, and shimming (iPRES) 32-ch AC/DC head coil. We also simulated a theoretical 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-order SH shim as a benchmark to assess the UNIfied shim-RF coil (UNIC) improvements. In this preliminary study, the whole-brain coverage was simulated by using B0 field maps of twenty-four healthy human subjects (n = 24). Our results demonstrated that UNIC substantially improves brain field homogeneity, reducing whole-brain frequency standard deviations by 27% compared to the standard 2nd-order scanner shim and 17% compared to the iPRES shim. Moreover, UNIC enhances whole-brain coverage of 3D-MRSI by up to 34% compared to the standard 2nd-order scanner shim and up to 13% compared to the iPRES shim. UNIC markedly increases coverage in the prefrontal cortex by 147% and 47% and in the medial temporal lobe and temporal pole by 29% and 13%, respectively, at voxel resolutions of 1.4 cc and 0.09 cc for 3D-MRSI. Furthermore, UNIC effectively reduces variations in shim quality and brain coverage among different subjects compared to scanner shim and iPRES shim. Anticipated advancements in higher-order shimming (beyond 6th order) are expected via optimized designs using dimensionality reduction methods.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: However, the pathogenesis and etiology of CP/CPPS are still poorly understood. Therefore, there is a need for further research through the Image J software to develop models capable of imitating the pathogenesis and etiology of CP/CPPS with different doses of the pathogenesis and the etiology of CP/CPPS is still poorly understood. The aim was to determine the area of the prostatic interstitium, the localization of the inflammation, and the impact of different doses on the group model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 male ICR mice were randomly grouped into 5 (n = 6): 45 µg group = 6, 60 µg group = 6, 90 µg group = 6, 120 µg group = 6, 120 µg group = 6, control group = 6. With the exception of the control group, all the groups were immunized by injecting 0.2 mL of T2 peptide emulsion and immune adjuvant CFA to induce non-bacterial chronic prostatitis on days 0 and 14 of the mice and finally executed on day 28. All injections were administered subcutaneously. HE staining was used to evaluate changes in prostate pathology. Image J was used to calculate the area of the prostate interstitium, which represents the degree of prostate edema. To compare statistical differences between groups, the ANOVA test was used. RESULTS: From the perspective of pathological scoring, the 60 µg, 90 µg, and 120 µg groups had the highest scores using Image J to treat inflammatory cells. In addition, in the prostate interstitium area treated, it was found that the 90 µg group attained the largest prostate interstitial area as well as the highest degree of swelling. CONCLUSIONS: From the results, Image J software is an effective tool in the calculating the surface of the prostatic interstitium and the specific localization of the inflammation.
