Quantitative analysis of the hippocampus using images obtained from 7.0 T MRI.
In-vivo volumetric measurements of hippocampus have proven to be highly informative for studying various neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The usefulness of volumetric imaging, however, has been limited due to the poor image resolutions obtained by currently available MRI images. In this study, a new result of volumetric image measurement of the hippocampus using 7.0 T MRI images of high contrast and resolution is described. To verify the usefulness of the proposed method, its reliability and sensitivity were examined and compared with existing imaging techniques such as 1.5 T or 3.0 T MRI imaging. The results of our study with 7.0 T MRI clearly demonstrated superior boundary detection for the hippocampal head, body, and tail compared with low field MRIs. In conclusion, robust and reproducible volumetric measurements as well as 3D images of clear contrast obtained with 7.0 T suggest the usefulness of high field MR imaging and its eventual use for the accurate diagnosis of hippocampal diseases and related research.
Cho
Zang-Hee
ZH
Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon 1198 Kuwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon 405-760, Korea. zcho@gachon.ac.kr
Han
Jae-Yong
JY
Hwang
Seok-Il
SI
Kim
Dae-shik
DS
Kim
Kyoung-Nam
KN
Kim
Nam-Beom
NB
Kim
Seog Ju
SJ
Chi
Je-Geun
JG
Park
Chan-Woong
CW
Kim
Young-Bo
YB
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity