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Abstract #3302

Modelling optic nerve axonal fields for direct neuronal detection MR studies

Paley M, Wild J, Lee K, Whitby E, Griffiths P, Chow L, Cook G
University of Sheffield

The optic nerve carries all visual information from the eye to the brain through 1 million axonal fibres. Simulation of the magnetic field modulation which could feasibly be produced by the optic nerve has been developed to help understand the factors affecting the ability of MR to measure weak axonal fields in-vivo. The calculated waveforms were applied to a D-A converter to modulate a phantom and images were analysed using the ghost reconstructed alternating current estimation (GRACE) method. 3T GRACE images were also acquired in three volunteers with a strobe stimulus showing preliminary evidence for optic nerve ghosts in vivo.