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Abstract #0953

Imaging of the Nigrosomes of the Substantia Nigra at 3T

Anna I. Blazejewska1, Stefan T. Schwarz2, Samuel J. Wharton1, Richard W. Bowtell1, Dorothee P. Auer2, Penelope A. Gowland1

1SPMMRC, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Notts, United Kingdom; 2Division of Radiological and Imaging Sciences, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, Notts, United Kingdom


Nigrosomes are substructures of the substantia nigra (SN) that are clinically important due to their high vulnerability to the dopaminergic cell loss in the Parkinons disease (PD). The largest nigrosome (N1) can be detected in vivo using high resolution T2*w images obtained at 7T and has shown potential to become a marker of PD. This study compared different 3T scans in terms of their ability to visualise nigrosome 1 and found that it can be detected in clinically useful imaging times using an FFE or PRESTO scan.