title: Can we develop pathology-specific MRI contrast for "MR-negative" epilepsy?
abstract: Recent improvements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) hardware, software, and analysis routines are helping to put cases of "MR-negative" epilepsy on the decline. However, most standard-of-care MRI relies on careful manipulation and presentation of T1, T2, and diffusion-weighted contrast, which characterize the behavior of water in "bulk" tissue rather than providing pathology-specific contrast. Research efforts in MR physics continue to identify and develop novel theory, and methods such as diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) and temporal diffusion spectroscopy that can better characterize tissue substructure, and chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) that can target underlying biochemical processes. The potential role of each technique in targeting pathologies implicated in "MR-negative" epilepsy is outlined herein.
authors: School of Biomedical Engineering & Department of Radiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. kirk.feindel@dal.ca
authors: Kirk W
authors: KW
authors: Feindel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003287:Contrast Media; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media