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Thomas DC, Oros-Peusquens AM, Schöneck M, Willuweit A, Abbas Z, Zimmermann M, Felder J, Celik A, Shah NJ. In Vivo Measurement of Rat Brain Water Content at 9.4 T MR Using Super-Resolution Reconstruction: Validation With Ex Vivo Experiments. J Magn Reson Imaging 2024; 60:161-172. [PMID: 37855368 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.29061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Given that changes in brain water content are often correlated with disease, investigating water content non-invasively and in vivo could lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of several neurologic diseases. PURPOSE To adapt a super-resolution-based technique, previously developed for humans, to the rat brain and report in vivo high-resolution (HR) water content maps in comparison with ex vivo wet/dry methods. STUDY TYPE Prospective. ANIMAL MODEL Eight healthy male Wistar rats. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 9.4-T, multi-echo gradient-echo (mGRE) sequence. ASSESSMENT Using super-resolution reconstruction (SRR), a HR mGRE image (200 μm isotropic) was reconstructed from three low-resolution (LR) orthogonal whole-brain images in each animal, which was followed by water content mapping in vivo. The animals were subsequently sacrificed, the brains excised and divided into five regions (front left, front right, middle left, middle right, and cerebellum-brainstem regions), and the water content was measured ex vivo using wet/dry measurements as the reference standard. The water content values of the in vivo and ex vivo methods were then compared for the whole brain and also for the different regions separately. STATISTICAL TESTS Friedman's non-parametric test was used to test difference between the five regions, and Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for correlation between in vivo and ex vivo measurements. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS Water content values derived from in vivo MR measurements showed strong correlations with water content measured ex vivo at a regional level (r = 0.902). Different brain regions showed significantly different water content values. Water content values were highest in the frontal brain, followed by the midbrain, and lowest in the cerebellum and brainstem regions. DATA CONCLUSION An in vivo technique to achieve HR isotropic water content maps in the rat brain using SRR was adopted in this study. The MRI-derived water content values obtained using the technique showed strong correlations with water content values obtained using ex vivo wet/dry methods. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis C Thomas
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Michael Schöneck
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Antje Willuweit
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Zaheer Abbas
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Markus Zimmermann
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jörg Felder
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Avdo Celik
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 11, INM-11, JARA, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Nadim Joni Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 11, INM-11, JARA, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN-Translational Medicine, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Chen Q, Worthoff WA, Shah NJ. Accelerated multiple-quantum-filtered sodium magnetic resonance imaging using compressed sensing at 7 T. Magn Reson Imaging 2024; 107:138-148. [PMID: 38171423 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2023.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Multiple-quantum-filtered (MQF) sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), such as enhanced single-quantum and triple-quantum-filtered imaging of 23Na (eSISTINA), enables images to be weighted towards restricted sodium, a promising biomarker in clinical practice, but often suffers from clinically infeasible acquisition times and low image quality. This study aims to mitigate the above limitation by implementing a novel eSISTINA sequence at 7 T with the application of compressed sensing (CS) to accelerate eSISTINA acquisitions without a noticeable loss of information. METHODS A novel eSISTINA sequence with a 3D spiral-based sampling scheme was implemented at 7 T for the application of CS. Fully sampled datasets were obtained from one phantom and ten healthy subjects, and were then retrospectively undersampled by various undersampling factors. CS undersampled reconstructions were compared to fully sampled and undersampled nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) reconstructions. Reconstruction performance was evaluated based on structural similarity (SSIM), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), weightings towards total and compartmental sodium, and in vivo quantitative estimates. RESULTS CS-based phantom and in vivo images have less noise and better structural delineation while maintaining the weightings towards total, non-restricted (predominantly extracellular), and restricted (primarily intracellular) sodium. CS generally outperforms NUFFT with a higher SNR and a better SSIM, except for the SSIM in TQ brain images, which is likely due to substantial noise contamination. CS enables in vivo quantitative estimates with <15% errors at an undersampling factor of up to two. CONCLUSIONS Successful implementation of an eSISTINA sequence with an incoherent sampling scheme at 7 T was demonstrated. CS can accelerate eSISTINA by up to twofold at 7 T with reduced noise levels compared to NUFFT, while maintaining major structural information, reasonable weightings towards total and compartmental sodium, and relatively reliable in vivo quantification. The associated reduction in acquisition time has the potential to facilitate the clinical applicability of MQF sodium MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingping Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - 4, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Wieland A Worthoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - 4, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany.
| | - N Jon Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - 4, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine - 11, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany; JARA-BRAIN-Translational Medicine, Aachen, Germany; Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Langen KJ, Galldiks N, Mauler J, Kocher M, Filß CP, Stoffels G, Régio Brambilla C, Stegmayr C, Willuweit A, Worthoff WA, Shah NJ, Lerche C, Mottaghy FM, Lohmann P. Hybrid PET/MRI in Cerebral Glioma: Current Status and Perspectives. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3577. [PMID: 37509252 PMCID: PMC10377176 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15143577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Advanced MRI methods and PET using radiolabelled amino acids provide valuable information, in addition to conventional MR imaging, for brain tumour diagnostics. These methods are particularly helpful in challenging situations such as the differentiation of malignant processes from benign lesions, the identification of non-enhancing glioma subregions, the differentiation of tumour progression from treatment-related changes, and the early assessment of responses to anticancer therapy. The debate over which of the methods is preferable in which situation is ongoing, and has been addressed in numerous studies. Currently, most radiology and nuclear medicine departments perform these examinations independently of each other, leading to multiple examinations for the patient. The advent of hybrid PET/MRI allowed a convergence of the methods, but to date simultaneous imaging has reached little relevance in clinical neuro-oncology. This is partly due to the limited availability of hybrid PET/MRI scanners, but is also due to the fact that PET is a second-line examination in brain tumours. PET is only required in equivocal situations, and the spatial co-registration of PET examinations of the brain to previous MRI is possible without disadvantage. A key factor for the benefit of PET/MRI in neuro-oncology is a multimodal approach that provides decisive improvements in the diagnostics of brain tumours compared with a single modality. This review focuses on studies investigating the diagnostic value of combined amino acid PET and 'advanced' MRI in patients with cerebral gliomas. Available studies suggest that the combination of amino acid PET and advanced MRI improves grading and the histomolecular characterisation of newly diagnosed tumours. Few data are available concerning the delineation of tumour extent. A clear additive diagnostic value of amino acid PET and advanced MRI can be achieved regarding the differentiation of tumour recurrence from treatment-related changes. Here, the PET-guided evaluation of advanced MR methods seems to be helpful. In summary, there is growing evidence that a multimodal approach can achieve decisive improvements in the diagnostics of cerebral gliomas, for which hybrid PET/MRI offers optimal conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl-Josef Langen
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Universities of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Duesseldorf, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Norbert Galldiks
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
- Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Universities of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Duesseldorf, 53127 Bonn, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Jörg Mauler
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Martin Kocher
- Department of Stereotaxy and Functional Neurosurgery, Center for Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Christian Peter Filß
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Gabriele Stoffels
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Cláudia Régio Brambilla
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Carina Stegmayr
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Antje Willuweit
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Wieland Alexander Worthoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Nadim Jon Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Christoph Lerche
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
| | - Felix Manuel Mottaghy
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Universities of Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Duesseldorf, 53127 Bonn, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Philipp Lohmann
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3, INM-4, INM-11), Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
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