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Abstract #2176

Quantitative Evaluation of Spinal Cord Tissue Damage in MS Patients using Gradient Echo Plural Contrast Imaging

Jie Luo1, Anne H. Cross2, Dmitriy A. Yablonskiy3

1Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, St.Louis, MO, United States; 2Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States; 3Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States


As an important part of the CNS evaluation, spinal cord imaging is valuable in both diagnosis and ongoing evaluation of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In this study, we demonstrate the capability of extending GEPCI technique to spinal cord imaging in general and quantitative evaluation of tissue damage in MS patients. Using 3D isotropic high resolution acquisition, GEPCI eliminates partial volume effects while allowing image reconstruction in arbitrary direction. The cerebellum and brain stem areas also showed very good contrast with our resolution, which further strengthens the promise for GEPCI technique to quantitatively characterize the whole CNS.

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