Keywords: Parkinson's Disease, Magnetization transfer, Neuromelanin, Locus coeruleus, Substantia nigra
Motivation: Loss of neuromelanin (NM) in brainstem structures is evident in pathology in early neurodegenerative disease. In-vivo neuromelanin imaging is a potential biomarker, but previously-developed approaches can be too lengthy for routine clinical use.
Goal(s): To optimize the contrast of locus coeruleus (LC) and substantia nigra (SN) in a fast, segmented EPI readout variable flip-angle magnetization transfer (EP-vfMT) acquisition.
Approach: Contrast of LC and SN were optimized as a function of echo time (TE), repetition time (TR), and MT flip-angle while limiting scan time to 5 minutes.
Results: Optimal contrast was found by minimizing TE and maximizing MT flip-angle. Contrast was insensitive to TR.
Impact: The speed of the proposed acquisition will enable examination of EP-vfMT as an imaging biomarker for early-stage neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other neurogenerative disorders.
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