Yuanxin Chen1, Jian-Xiong Wang2,
Lisa M. Gazdzinski1, Paula J. Foster1, Brian K. Rutt3
1Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts
Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; 2Applied Science
Laboratory, GE HEALTHCARE, London, Ontario, Canada; 3Department of
Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
There
has been increased interest in positive-contrast MRI methods to visualize
cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles. Here,
we applied the 3D Cones technique for ultra-short echo time (UTE) imaging of
SPIO-labelled tumour cells in mouse brain. An intracranial tumour model was
created by injection of SPIO labeled GL261 mouse glioma cells into the
striata of C57/Bl6 mice. Short-T2-selective UTE imaging with a 3D Cones
sequence on a 1.5T MR scanner was accomplished through the subtraction of
interleaved, alternating-TE data acquired in an RF-TE1-RF-TE2 scheme. This
work shows the feasibility of selectively tracking SPIO-labeled cells with
positive-contrast.