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Abstract #3016

Myelin as a Primary Source of Phase Contrast Demonstrated in Vivo in the Mouse Brain

Nicoleta Baxan1, Laura-Adela Harsan1, Iulius Dragonu1, Annette Merkle1, Juergen Hennig1, Dominik von Elverfeldt1

1Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany


While most of MRI studies are focused on the magnitude data, the phase contrast has only recently proved its ability to improve the contrast to noise in high-resolution images at high-field strength. The origin of phase contrast between white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) has been widely discussed; several sources were suggested including paramagnetic blood deoxyhemoglobin, tissue iron concentrations, water-macromolecules exchange or tissue myelin content. In the present study we examine the contribution of tissue myelin content to the phase contrast by exploiting the frequency shift variation in a chronic model of cuprizone induced demyelination.

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