ELECTRONIC POSTER - ismrm

15:30 4441. Anatomical Imaging at 7 T Using 2D GRASE – a Comparison with 2D TSE
Robert Trampel 1 , Robin Martin Heidemann 1 , Robert Turner 1
1 Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
Specific absorption rate (SAR) is a serious problem at high field strengths, especially for sequences such as Turbo Spin-Echo (TSE).
For a given desired tissue contrast, SAR reduction can provide either faster imaging or greater spatial coverage per unit time. By
omitting most of the refocusing pulses of TSE, and replacing them with segmented EPI readouts, GRASE (Gradient-and-Spin-Echo)
incurs much less SAR. Careful comparison of TSE and GRASE images at 7 T showed very similar SNR and contrast. The very slight
decrease in GRASE image quality is balanced by a significant reduction in scan time (x 1/3) or increase in spatial coverage (x 3) as
compared with TSE.
Tuesday 13:30-15:30 Computer 84
13:30 4442. MEG-Guided Surface Coil Imaging at 3 Tesla in Patients with Refractory Epilepsy:
Preliminary Results
Samuel Lapere 1 , Evelien Carrette 2 , Paul Boon 2 , Kristl Vonck 2 , Xavier De Tiège 3 , Eric
Achten 1 , Karel Deblaere 1
1 Department of Radiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; 2 Reference Center for Refractory
Epilepsy, Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital; 3 Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionelle du
Cerveau, ULB Erasmus Hospital Brussels, Belgium
Patients with refractory epilepsy in whom the epileptogenic zone cannot be precisely identified are not likely to undergo resective
surgery. This study aims to assess the potential of surface coil imaging at 3T guided by magnetoencephalography (MEG) to locate the
epileptogenic zone. Fifteen patients with dipole clustering on MEG (indicating the possible epileptogenic zone) were scanned with a
surface coil at 3T. MEG-guided surface coil imaging at 3T showed an added value in the detection of lesions previously not visible or
missed on 3T MRI, and demonstrated an improved delineation and electrophysiological validation of previously known lesions.
14:00 4443. Increased Gray Matter Volume and Cortical Surface Area of Left Pars Opercularis
in Male Orchestral Musicians Correlated Positively with Years of Musical Performance
Ihssan Abdul-Kareem 1 , Andrej Stancak 2 , Laura Parkes 3 , Vanessa Sluming 1
1 School of Health Sciences, Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre, University of Liverpool,
Liverpool, United Kingdom; 2 Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom;
3 Department of Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, School of Cancer and Imaging Sciences,
University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Musicians’ brains have long been studied for possible structural brain differences in response to skill acquisition. Broca’s region is
crucial for several musically relevant abilities. We compare manual gray and white matter volume measurements and automatic
cortical surface area measurements of Broca’s region subparts: pars opercularis (POP) and pars triangularis between 26 musicians and
26 non-musicians, all right handed. Musicians have significantly increased gray matter volume and cortical surface area of left POP
which was positively correlated with years of musical performance. We hypothesize that prolonged skill acquisition is an
environmentally enriching activity resulting in structural reorganization of left POP.
14:30 4444. High Resolution Magnetization Transfer Imaging at 3T VS. 1.5T
Ying Wu 1,2 , Christine O'Brien 3 , Christopher Glielmi 4 , Hongyan Du 5 , Robert Edelman 2,3 ,
Ann Ragin 6
1 Radiology , NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States; 2 Radiology , University of
Chicago; 3 Radiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States; 4 Cardiovascular MR
R&D, Siemens Healthcare; 5 NorthShore University HealthSystem Research Institute; 6 Radiology, Northwestern
University
The increased field strength at 3T significantly improved image quality of high resolution Magnetization Transfer Images, while the
increased scan variation at higher field strength is a potential concern; this investigation indicated that relative to 1.5T, the 3T scanner
is conducive to more consistent MTR measurement over time. Importantly, our findings in the human study indicate excellent
reproducibility in regions such as the hippocampus that are critical regions for detecting early changes in Alzheimer’s disease and
other neurological disorders. Our results demonstrate the promising potential of high resolution MT for clinical application.
15:00 4445. Complex Histogram Based Analysis for Visualization of MRI Data
Peter Arjan Wassenaar 1 , Michael V. Knopp 1 , Petra Schmalbrock 1
1 Radiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
Especially at high fields, MRI data contain useful information stemming from the presence of paramagnetic material. This work
introduces a new approach to visualizing complex MRI data based on the concept of complex histograms. Complex histograms
provide a representation of both magnitude and phase data simultaneously. Furthermore, a complex color mapping scheme is
introduced for the visualization of complex images, while retaining both magnitude and phase information. Finally, complex
histograms may provide the starting point to tissue segmentation through constraints defined in the complex plane.