Background: With the approval of disease-modifying treatments for 5q-spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), there is an increasing need for biomarkers for disease course and therapeutic response monitoring. Radially sampled Averaged Magnetization Inversion Recovery Acquisitions (rAMIRA) MR-imaging enables spinal cord (SC) gray matter (GM) delineation and quantification in vivo. This study aims to assess SC GM atrophy in patients with 5q-SMA and its associations with clinical disability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To introduce and evaluate TrueLung, an automated pipeline for computation and analysis of free-breathing and contrast-agent free pulmonary functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Materials And Methods: Two-dimensional time-resolved ultra-fast balanced steady-state free precession acquisitions were transferred to TrueLung, which included image quality checks, image registration, and computation of perfusion and ventilation maps with matrix pencil decomposition. Neural network whole-lung and lobar segmentations allowed quantification of impaired relative perfusion (R) and fractional ventilation (R).
Background Radially sampled averaged magnetization inversion-recovery acquisition (rAMIRA) imaging shows hyperintensity in the lateral corticospinal tract (CST) in patients with motor neuron diseases. Purpose To systematically determine the accuracy of the lateral corticospinal tract sign for detecting patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at rAMIRA MRI. Materials and Methods This study included prospectively acquired data from participants in ALS and other motor neuron disease imaging studies at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To demonstrate the potential of a double angle stimulated echo (DA-STE) method for fast and accurate "full" homogeneous Helmholtz-based electrical properties tomography using a simultaneous magnitude and transceive phase measurement.
Methods: The combination of a spin and stimulated echo can be used to yield an estimate of both magnitude and transceive phase and thus provides the means for "full" EPT reconstruction. An interleaved 2D acquisition scheme is used for rapid acquisition.
Purpose: To establish an interleaved multislice variant of the averaged magnetization inversion-recovery acquisitions (AMIRA) approach for 2D spinal cord imaging with increased acquisition efficiency compared with the conventional 2D single-slice approach(es), and to determine essential prerequisites for a working interleaved multislice AMIRA approach in practice.
Methods: The general AMIRA concept is based on an inversion recovery-prepared, segmented, and time-limited cine balanced SSFP sequence, generating images of different contrast. For AMIRA imaging of multiple, independent slices in a 2D interleaved fashion, a slice loop within the acquisition loops was programmed.
Background: Previous studies showed that contrast-enhanced (CE) morpho-functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detects abnormalities in lung morphology and perfusion in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Novel matrix pencil decomposition MRI (MP-MRI) enables quantification of lung perfusion and ventilation without intravenous contrast agent administration.
Objectives: To compare MP-MRI with established morpho-functional MRI and spirometry in patients with CF.
Introduction: Previous studies in humans and rats suggest that erythritol might positively affect vascular function, xylitol decrease visceral fat mass and both substances improve glycaemic control. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of a 5-week intake of erythritol and xylitol on vascular function, abdominal fat and blood lipids, glucose tolerance, uric acid, hepatic enzymes, creatinine, gastrointestinal tolerance and dietary patterns in humans with obesity.
Methods: Forty-two participants were randomised to consume either 36 g erythritol, 24 g xylitol, or no substance daily for 5 weeks.
Introduction: Associative memory is arguably the most basic memory function and therein constitutes the foundation of all episodic and semantic memory processes. At the same time, the decline of associative memory represents a core feature of age-related cognitive decline in both, healthy and pathological (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), there is an unmet need for more precise patient characterization through quantitative, ideally operator-independent, assessments of disease extent and severity. Radially sampled averaged magnetization inversion recovery acquisitions (rAMIRA) magnetic resonance imaging enables gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) area quantitation in the cervical and thoracic spinal cord (SC) with optimized contrast. We aimed to investigate rAMIRA-derived SC GM and SC WM areas and their association with clinical phenotype and disability in ALS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To develop a novel signal representation for balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) displaying its T independence on B and on magnetization transfer (MT) effects.
Methods: A signal model for bSSFP is developed that shows only an explicit dependence (up to a scaling factor) on E (and, therefore, T) and a novel parameter c (with implicit dependence on the flip angle and E). Moreover, it is shown that MT effects, entering the bSSFP signal via a binary spin bath model, can be captured by a redefinition of T and, therefore, leading to modification of E, resulting in the same signal model.
Purpose: The reproducibility of scientific reports is crucial to advancing human knowledge. This paper is a summary of our experience in replicating a balanced SSFP half-radial dual-echo imaging technique (bSTAR) using open-source frameworks as a response to the 2023 ISMRM "repeat it with me" Challenge.
Methods: We replicated the bSTAR technique for thoracic imaging at 0.
Purpose: To investigate the prospects of a multigradient-echo (mGRE) acquisition for in vivo myelin water imaging at 0.55 T.
Methods: Scans were performed on the brain of four healthy volunteers at 0.
Objectives: In patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) the exact functional outcome of the affected lung side is still unknown, mainly due to the lack of spatially resolved diagnostic tools. Functional matrix-pencil decomposition (MP-) lung MRI fills this gap as it measures side-specific ventilation and perfusion. We aimed to assess the overall and side-specific pulmonary long-term outcomes of patients with CDH using lung function tests and MP-MRI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To implement cine phase-contrast balanced SSFP (PC-bSSFP) for low-field 0.55T cardiac MRI by exploiting the intrinsic flow sensitivity of the bSSFP slice-select gradient and the in-plane phase-cancelation properties of radial trajectories, enabling self-gated and referenceless PC-bSSFP flow quantification at 0.55 T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The potential of magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for the detection and evolution of new multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions was analyzed.
Methods: Nineteen patients with MS obtained conventional MRI, MTI, and DTI examinations bimonthly for 12 months and again after 24 months at 1.5 T MRI.
Background: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely applied anti-inflammatory drugs that are associated with adverse metabolic effects including insulin resistance and weight gain. Previous research indicates that GCs may negatively impact brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity in rodents and humans.
Methods: We performed a randomised, double-blinded cross-over trial in 16 healthy men (clinicaltrials.
Purpose: To improve the gray/white matter contrast of magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo (MP-RAGE) MRI at 0.55 T by optimizing the acquisition and sequence kernel parameters.
Methods: A segmented magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo prototype sequence was implemented with (MP-RAGE*) and without (MP-FISP*) radiofrequency spoiling.
Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of high-resolution morphologic lung MRI at 0.55 T using a free-breathing balanced steady-state free precession half-radial dual-echo imaging technique (bSTAR).
Methods: Self-gated free-breathing bSTAR (TE /TE /TR of 0.
Lung function testing and lung imaging are commonly used techniques to monitor respiratory diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF). The nitrogen (N) multiple-breath washout technique (MBW) has been shown to detect ventilation inhomogeneity in CF, but the underlying pathophysiological processes that are altered are often unclear. Dynamic oxygen-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (OE-MRI) could potentially be performed simultaneously with MBW because both techniques require breathing of 100% oxygen (O) and may allow for visualisation of alterations underlying impaired MBW outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To provide a robust whole-brain quantitative magnetization transfer (MT) imaging method that is not limited by long acquisition times.
Methods: Two variants of a spiral 2D interleaved multi-slice spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) sequence are used for rapid quantitative MT imaging of the brain at 3 T. A dual flip angle, steady-state prepared, double-contrast method is used for combined B and-T mapping in combination with a single-contrast MT-prepared acquisition over a range of different saturation flip angles (50 deg to 850 deg) and offset frequencies (1 kHz and 10 kHz).
Background: Although cervical spinal cord (cSC) area is an established biomarker in MS, there is currently a lack of longitudinal assessments of cSC gray and white matter areas.
Objective: We conducted an explorative analysis of longitudinal changes of cSC gray and white matter areas in MS patients.
Methods: 65 MS patients (33 relapsing-remitting; 20 secondary progressive and 12 primary progressive) and 20 healthy controls (HC) received clinical and upper cSC MRI assessments over 1.
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol
February 2023
Background And Purpose: Fully automatic quantification methods of spinal cord compartments are needed to study pathologic changes of the spinal cord GM and WM in MS in vivo. We propose a novel method for automatic spinal cord compartment segmentation (SCORE) in patients with MS.
Materials And Methods: The cervical spinal cords of 24 patients with MS and 24 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were scanned on a 3T MR imaging system, including an averaged magnetization inversion recovery acquisition sequence.
Background: With improvement in supportive therapies and the introduction of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-modulator treatment in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), milder disease courses are expected. Therefore, sensitive parameters are needed to monitor disease course and effects of CFTR-modulators. Functional lung MRI using matrix-pencil decomposition (MP-MRI) is a promising tool for assessing ventilation and perfusion quantitatively.
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