Keywords: Dementia, Multi-Contrast, Locus Coeruleus, Magnetisation transfer, Ultra-high field, Neurodegeneration
Motivation: Magnetisation transfer (MT) weighting has been used to visualise the Locus Coeruleus (LC) at 7T, but robust visualisation remains challenging due to its small size and complex contrast mechanisms.
Goal(s): Investigate how proton-density- (PD) and T1-weighting interact with MT-weighting and optimise an advanced post-processing pipeline for LC visualisation.
Approach: Multi-echo 3D gradient echo images were acquired with MT-weighting and either PD- or T1-weighting from two individuals, including scan-rescan acquisitions.
Results: MT-PD-weighting enhanced visualisation of the LC with respect to the surrounding tissue, whereas MT-T1-weighting enhanced contrast with respect to the nearby CSF. Combining these via wavelet-based fusion maximises these respective benefits.
Impact: Enhancing visualisation of the Locus Coeruleus with our proposed acquisition and processing technique will pave the way for neurologists and cognitive neuroscientists to understand the key role this structure plays in human cognition and neurodegeneration.
How to access this content:
For one year after publication, abstracts and videos are only open to registrants of this annual meeting. Registrants should use their existing login information. Non-registrant access can be purchased via the ISMRM E-Library.
After one year, current ISMRM & ISMRT members get free access to both the abstracts and videos. Non-members and non-registrants must purchase access via the ISMRM E-Library.
After two years, the meeting proceedings (abstracts) are opened to the public and require no login information. Videos remain behind password for access by members, registrants and E-Library customers.
Keywords