Magnetization Transfer Weighted Double Inversion Recovery for an Improved Visualization of Neocortical and Juxtacortical Signal Abnormalities

Christian Langkammer¹, Christian Enzinger¹, Siegrid Fuchs¹, Franz Fazekas¹, Stefan Ropele¹

Signal abnormalities in multiple sclerosis such as neocortical and juxtacortical lesions can be visualized best using a double inversion recovery (DIR) sequence. DIR sequences are based on T1 filtering and aim on suppressing signal from white matter and cerebrospinal fluid. We here investigated, whether the application of additional MT saturation pulses can further improve the contrast between cortex, white matter and embedded lesions. The new sequence was evaluated in the brain of healthy volunteers and multiple sclerosis patients.