title: Structural imaging of the cervical spinal cord with suppressed CSF signal using DANTE pulse trains.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We propose DANTE (Delays Alternating with Nutation for Tailored Excitation) moving fluid attenuation preparation pulse trains, in conjunction with T1 , T2 , and proton-density-weighted fast spin-echo (T1w-TSE, T2w-TSE and PDw-TSE) imaging readout, and three-dimensional fast low flip angle shots (3D-FLASH) T1 -weighted imaging readout to achieve CSF-suppressed high-spatial resolution multicontrast cervical spinal cord images.
  
  
  METHODS
  DANTE pulse trains, consisting of a rapid series of low flip angle radiofrequency pulses interspersed with gradients, were used to substantially attenuate the longitudinal magnetization of flowing spins relative to static tissue/fluid, whose longitudinal magnetization is mostly preserved. We hypothesized that the contrast between spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) could be maximized due to moving CSF signal suppression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We demonstrate that metrics of contrast-to-noise ratio between spinal cord, nerve root, and CSF regions (CNRcord-CSF and CNRnerve-CSF ) are improved by at least a factor of 2 when compared with images acquired with non-prepared approaches and with 2D multiple-echo data image combination (MEDIC) imaging. In addition, we find that sagittal image quality can be significantly improved due to flow suppression effects from the DANTE preparation pluses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DANTE prepared imaging techniques for moving CSF signal attenuation are promising tools for cervical spinal cord imaging.
authors.affiliation: FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Linqing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yazhuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zaitsu
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Palace
authors.affiliation: FMRIB Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jezzard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D066193:Cervical Cord / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 3D-DASH; CSF flow suppression; DANTE pulse; cervical spinal cord imaging; neuroimaging