Abstract #2652

Improving Contrast in 3D Structural Brain Imaging at 3T by Incorporating Magnetisation Transfer Pulses Into MDEFT (MT-MDEFT)

David L. Thomas¹, Nikolaus Weiskopf², Roger J. Ordidge¹

¹Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London, London, UK; ²Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK

3D MDEFT is an established imaging technique for whole brain T1-weighted imaging, particularly at high field strength. In this work, we describe a modification to the MDEFT sequence which increases the CNR of GM, WM and CSF in the brain. We achieve this by adding magnetisation transfer (MT) pulses to the first part of the MDEFT preparation period. The contrast introduced by these MT pulses combines constructively with the inherent T1 contrast to produce images with higher CNR than standard MDEFT. Mean CNR increases are WM/GM = 5% and GM/CSF = 24%.