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Abstract #0347

Quantitative Assessment of the White Matter Damage Following Dorsal Column Transection in Rat Spinal Cord Using Frequency Shift Mapping

I-Wen Evan Chen1, Jie Liu2, Wolfram Tetzlaff2, 3, Vanessa Wiggermann4, Edenino Hernandez-Torres4, Piotr Kozlowski, 45, Alexander Rauscher, 45

1MRI Research Center, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; 2International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; 3Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; 4UBC MRI Research Centre, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; 5Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada


Tissue microstructure is regarded as a major source of white and gray matter contrast in phase images produced with gradient echo (GE) imaging in the CNS. We investigated frequency shift in excised rat spinal cords with dorsal column transection injury scanned at 7T parallel to main magnetic field B0. Comparing them to corresponding Eriochrome Cyanide (myelin) stained tissue sections, we found strong correlation between myelin and frequency shift both 5mm distal and proximal to injury. These preliminary results suggest GE phase imaging of injured rat spinal cords provides a good model for assessing tissue microstructure contributions to MR frequency shifts.