In vivo multiple-mouse imaging at 1.5 T.
A multiple-mouse solenoidal MR coil was developed for in vivo imaging of up to 13 mice simultaneously to screen for tumors on a 1.5 T clinical scanner. For the coil to be effective as a screening tool, it should permit acquisition of MRIs in which orthotopic tumors with diameters >2 mm are detectable in a reasonable period of time (<1 hr magnet time) and their sizes accurately measured. Using a spin echo sequence, we demonstrated that this coil provides sufficient sensitivity for moderately high resolution images (156-176 microm in plane-resolution, 1.5 mm slice thickness). This spatial resolution permitted detection of primary brain tumors in transgenic/knockout mice and orthotopic xenografts. Brain tumor size as measured by MRI was correlated with size measured by histopathology (P < 0.001). Metastatic tumors in the mouse lung were also successfully imaged in a screening setting. The multiple mouse coil is simple in construction and may be implemented without any significant modification to the hardware or software on a clinical scanner.
Xu
S
S
Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Gade
T P F
TP
Matei
C
C
Zakian
K
K
Alfieri
A A
AA
Hu
X
X
Holland
E C
EC
Soghomonian
S
S
Tjuvajev
J
J
Ballon
D
D
Koutcher
J A
JA
D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018827:Carcinoma, Lewis Lung / Q000175:diagnosis; D004867:Equipment Design; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005910:Glioma / Q000175:diagnosis; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D023421:Models, Animal