Enhanced T2 contrast for MR histology of the mouse brain.
A 3D Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence was implemented to obtain enhanced T(2) contrast in actively stained (perfusion with fixative and contrast agent) mouse brains at 9.4 T. Short interecho spacing was used to minimize diffusion and susceptibility losses. The sequence produced 16 3D volumes with an interecho spacing of 7 ms for isotropic 43-mu-resolution images of the mouse brains in a scan time of 4 hr. To enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast, the multiecho frequency domain image contrast (MEFIC) method was applied, resulting in a composite image with T(2)-weighted contrast. The high SNR and contrast thus achieved revealed aspects of mouse brain morphology, such as multiple cortical layers, groups of thalamic nuclei, layers of the inferior and superior colliculus, and molecular and granular layers of the cerebellum, with a high degree of definition and contrast that was not previously achieved in T(2)-weighted acquisitions at high fields.
Sharief
Anjum Ali
AA
Center for In Vivo Microscopy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Johnson
G Allan
GA
D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D003287:Contrast Media; D006571:Heterocyclic Compounds; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C062402:gadoteridol; D005682:Gadolinium