Limits of 8-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging spatial resolution of the deoxygenated cerebral microvasculature.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the minimum magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) spatial resolution of the visible deoxygenated microscopic vessels of the human brain at 8 T.


METHODS
This study compared 8-T gradient echo (GE) images of a human cadaver brain having an in-plane resolution of 195 x 195 microm to corresponding digital photographs of 205 cryomicrotome sections of the same cadaver brain, along with summed images of 25 contiguous cryomicrotome sections. One-millimeter-thick GE images of a 1-cm-thick unfixed whole coronal brain section were acquired using techniques similar to those commonly utilized for 8-T human imaging in vivo.


RESULTS
There was excellent MR visualization of the deoxygenated microscopic vessels within the brain down to a resolution of approximately 100 microm.


CONCLUSIONS
By taking advantage of magnetic susceptibility-based blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast, deoxygenated microscopic blood vessels smaller than the pixel dimensions used for imaging can be visualized using a whole-body 8-T MRI system.
Dashner
Roger A
RA
Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1228, USA.
Kangarlu
Allahyar
A
Clark
David L
DL
RayChaudhury
Abhik
A
Chakeres
Donald W
DW
D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000098:blood supply*; D002102:Cadaver; D002550:Cerebral Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods; D006454:Hemoglobins; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008280:Magnetics; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*
D006454:Hemoglobins; C100003:deoxyhemoglobin; D010100:Oxygen