R. Adam Horch1,
2, Mary Kate Manhard1, 2, Daniel F. Gochberg2,
3, Jeffry S. Nyman4, Mark D. Does1, 2
1Biomedical
Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 2Vanderbilt
University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
TN, United States; 3Radiology & Radiological Sciences,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 4Department
of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN,
United States
Modern ultrashort echo-time (uTE) MRI is a clinically feasible method for imaging human cortical bone. The conventional uTE signal from cortical bone contains non-discriminated contributions from both bound and pore water. Previous work has linked bound or pore water-discriminated measures to bone mechanical properties, so it is necessary to isolate bound from pore water for diagnostic utility. This work utilizes two modifications to uTE MRI, which incorporate T2-selective adiabatic full passage RF pulses to selectively image bound or pore water. These AFP methods are translated to a clinical scanner and provide quantitative images of bound or pore water in vivo.
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