Pilot study of dermal and subcutaneous fat structures by MRI in individuals who differ in gender, BMI, and cellulite grading.

Background/aims: Puckered, dimply skin on the thighs, hips, and buttocks is known as cellulite. The cause of cellulite is not known, although there are a number of different hypotheses. In this study, we use magnetic resonance (MR) micro-imaging to study cellulite skin.

In vivo morphological characterisation of skin by MRI micro-imaging methods.

Background/purpose: Quantitative assessments in skin layers using images obtained with standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences are limited, since the stratum corneum and dermis, the layers of most clinical interest, have low signal due to their short spin-spin relaxation, T2.

Methods: In the present work, different methods of MRI contrast, such as magnetisation transfer contrast (MTC), T1-weighting (where T1 is spin-lattice relaxation time), T2*-weighting (where T2* is the combination of T2 and magnetic field in-homogeneity effect) and chemical shift, were used. These techniques were combined with high-resolution MRI.

High-resolution imaging at 3T and 7T with multiring local volume coils.

Magnetic resonance (MR) microimaging of the human is becoming increasingly common for studies of tissue microstructure and microfunction. In this study, we consider the constraints that such experiments place on the design of radio-frequency (rf) coils, and describe the advantages of multiring coils, which offer a locally uniform B(1) field. We show that these coils are particularly suitable for high-field imaging of a restricted region of larger experimental animals or humans, offering the same simplicity and efficient use of rf power as a simple surface coil but without requiring sequence modifications such as adiabatic pulses.