Mohammed Salman Shazeeb1,
2, Christopher H. Sotak, 12
1Radiology,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States; 2Biomedical
Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
Diffusion-weighted NMR techniques have established that the ADC of cerebral tissue water decreases during ischemia. However, it remains unclear whether the ADC change occurs due to changes in the intracellular (IC) space, extracellular (EC) space, or both. Past works have measured compartment-specific diffusion coefficients using gadolinium as an EC MR contrast agent which reduces the longitudinal (T1) relaxation time of the EC space. In this study, we investigate an alternative approach by using manganese (Mn2+), which acts as a calcium analogue. Mn2+ uptake by cells causes T1 of IC water to shorten, thus allowing differentiation between the compartmental MR signals.