1.
2.
Lasic, Samo, et al.
(författare)
Apparent exchange rate mapping with diffusion MRI.
2011
Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. - : Wiley. - 1522-2594 .- 0740-3194. ; 66, s. 356-365
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Water exchange through the cell membranes is an important feature of cells and tissues. The rate of exchange is determined by factors such as membrane lipid composition and organization, as well as the type and activity of aquaporins. A method for noninvasively estimating the rate of water exchange would be useful for characterizing pathological conditions, e.g., tumors, multiple sclerosis, and ischemic stroke, expected to be associated with a change of the membrane barrier properties. This study describes the filter exchange imaging method for determining the rate of water exchange between sites having different apparent diffusion coefficients. The method is based on the filter-exchange pulsed gradient spin-echo NMR spectroscopy experiment, which is here modified to be compatible with the constraints of clinical MR scanners. The data is analyzed using a model-free approach yielding maps of the apparent exchange rate, here being introduced in analogy with the concept of the apparent diffusion coefficient. Proof-of-principle experiments are performed on microimaging and whole-body clinical scanners using yeast suspension phantoms. The limitations and appropriate experimental conditions are examined. The results demonstrate that filter exchange imaging is a fast and reliable method for characterizing exchange, and that it has the potential to become a powerful diagnostic tool. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
3.
Lasič, Samo, et al.
(författare)
Microanisotropy imaging : Quantification of microscopic diffusion anisotropy and orientational order parameter by diffusion MRI with magic-angle spinning of the q-vector
2014
Ingår i: Frontiers of Physics. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2095-0462 .- 2296-424X. ; 2, s. 1-14
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is the method of choice for non-invasive investigations of the structure of human brain white matter (WM). The results are conventionally reported as maps of the fractional anisotropy (FA), which is a parameter related to microstructural features such as axon density, diameter, and myelination. The interpretation of FA in terms of microstructure becomes ambiguous when there is a distribution of axon orientations within the image voxel. In this paper, we propose a procedure for resolving this ambiguity by determining a new parameter, the microscopic fractional anisotropy (μFA), which corresponds to the FA without the confounding influence of orientation dispersion. In addition, we suggest a method for measuring the orientational order parameter (OP) for the anisotropic objects. The experimental protocol is capitalizing on a recently developed diffusion nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) pulse sequence based on magic-angle spinning of the q-vector. Proof-of-principle experiments are carried out on microimaging and clinical MRI equipment using lyotropic liquid crystals and plant tissues as model materials with high μFA and low FA on account of orientation dispersion. We expect the presented method to be especially fruitful in combination with DTI and high angular resolution acquisition protocols for neuroimaging studies of gray and white matter.
4.
Lätt, Jimmy, et al.
(författare)
Regional values of diffusional kurtosis estimates in the healthy brain.
2013
Ingår i: Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. - : Wiley. - 1522-2586 .- 1053-1807. ; 37:3, s. 610-618
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
PURPOSE: To provide estimates of the diffusional kurtosis in the healthy brain in anatomically defined areas and list these along previously reported values in pathologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six volunteers (mean age = 33.1 years; range, 19-64 years) underwent diffusional kurtosis imaging. Mean kurtosis (MK), radial kurtosis (RK), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) were determined in 26 anatomical structures. Parameter estimates were assessed regarding age dependence. RESULTS: MK varied from 1.38 in the splenium of the corpus callosum to 0.66 in the caudate head, MD varied from 0.68 to 0.62 μm(2) /ms and FA from 0.87 to 0.29. MK, and FA showed a strong positive correlation, RK and RD a strong negative correlation. Parameter estimates showed age correlation in some regions; also the average MK and RK for all WM and all GM areas, respectively, were negatively correlated with age. CONCLUSION: DKI parameter estimates MK and RK varied depending on the anatomical region and varied with age in pooled WM and GM data. MK estimates in the internal capsule, corpus callosum, and thalamus were consistent with previous studies. The range of values of MK and RK in healthy brain overlapped with that in pathologies. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
5.
Mannfolk, Peter, et al.
(författare)
Assessment of spatial BOLD sensitivity variations in fMRI using gradient-echo field maps.
2010
Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance Imaging. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-5894 .- 0730-725X. ; 28:7, s. 947-956
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Clinical blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is becoming increasingly valuable in, e.g., presurgical planning, but the commonly used gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (GE-EPI) technique is sometimes hampered by macroscopic field inhomogeneities. This can affect the degree of signal change that will occur in the GE-EPI images as a response to neural activation and the subsequent blood oxygenation changes, i.e., the BOLD sensitivity (BS). In this study, quantitative BS maps were calculated directly from gradient-echo field maps obtainable on most clinical scanners. In order to validate the accuracy of the calculated BS-maps, known shim gradients were applied and field maps and GE-EPI images of a phantom were acquired. Measured GE-EPI image intensity was then compared with the calculated (predicted) image intensity (pII) which was obtained from the field maps using theoretical expressions for image-intensity loss. The validated expressions for pII were used to calculate the corresponding predicted BOLD sensitivity (pBS) maps in healthy volunteers. Since the field map is assumed to be valid throughout an entire fMRI experiment, the influence of subject motion on the pBS maps was also assessed. To demonstrate the usefulness of such maps, pBS was investigated for clinically important functional areas including hippocampus, Broca's area and primary motor cortex. A systematic left/right pBS difference was observed in Broca's area and in the hippocampus, most likely due to magnetic field inhomogeneity of the particular MRI-system used in this study. For all subjects, the hippocampus showed pBS values above unity with a clear anterior-posterior gradient and with an abrupt drop to zero pBS in the anterior parts of hippocampus. It is concluded that GE field maps can be used to accurately predict BOLD sensitivity and that this parameter is useful to assess spatial variations which will influence fMRI experiments.
6.
Mannfolk, Peter, et al.
(författare)
Can resting-state functional MRI serve as a complement to task-based mapping of sensorimotor function? A test-retest reliability study in healthy volunteers.
2011
Ingår i: Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. - : Wiley. - 1522-2586 .- 1053-1807. ; 34, s. 511-517
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate if resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) reliably can serve as a complement to task-based fMRI for presurgical mapping of the sensorimotor cortex. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Functional data were obtained in 10 healthy volunteers using a 3 Tesla MRI system. Each subject performed five bilateral finger tapping experiments interleaved with five resting-state experiments. Following preprocessing, data from eight volunteers were further analyzed with the general linear model (finger tapping data) and independent component analysis (rest data). Test-retest reliability estimates (hit rate and false alarm rate) for resting-state fMRI activation of the sensorimotor network were compared with the reliability estimates for task-evoked activation of the sensorimotor cortex. The reliability estimates constituted a receiver operating characteristics curve from which the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Statistical testing was performed to compare the two groups with respect to reliability. RESULTS: The AUC was generally higher for the task experiments, although median AUC was not significantly different on a group level. Also, the two groups showed comparable levels of within-group variance. CONCLUSION: Test-retest reliability was comparable between resting-state measurements and task-based fMRI, suggesting that presurgical mapping of functional networks can be a supplement to task-based fMRI in cases where patient status excludes task-based fMRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
7.
Mannfolk, Peter, et al.
(författare)
Dimensionality reduction of fMRI time series data using locally linear embedding.
2010
Ingår i: Magma. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1352-8661. ; 23:5-6, s. 327-338
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
OBJECTIVE: Data-driven methods for fMRI analysis are useful, for example, when an a priori model of signal variations is unavailable. However, activation sources are typically assumed to be linearly mixed, although non-linear properties of fMRI data, including resting-state data, have been observed. In this work, the non-linear locally linear embedding (LLE) algorithm is introduced for dimensionality reduction of fMRI time series data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LLE performance was optimised and tested using simulated and volunteer data for task-evoked responses. LLE was compared with principal component analysis (PCA) as a preprocessing step to independent component analysis (ICA). Using an example data set with known non-linear properties, LLE-ICA was compared with PCA-ICA and non-linear PCA-ICA. A resting-state data set was analysed to compare LLE-ICA and PCA-ICA with respect to identifying resting-state networks. RESULTS: LLE consistently found task-related components as well as known resting-state networks, and the algorithm compared well to PCA. The non-linear example data set demonstrated that LLE, unlike PCA, can separate non-linearly modulated sources in a low-dimensional subspace. Given the same target dimensionality, LLE also performed better than non-linear PCA. CONCLUSION: LLE is promising for fMRI data analysis and has potential advantages compared with PCA in terms of its ability to find non-linear relationships.
8.
Mårtensson, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
Spatial analysis of diffusion tensor tractography statistics along the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus with application in progressive supranuclear palsy
2013
Ingår i: Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0968-5243 .- 1352-8661. ; 26:6, s. 527-537
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
The purpose of the study was to develop a method for analysis of diffusion parameters along white matter (WM) tracts, using spatial normalization based on anatomical landmarks, and to introduce the apparent area coefficient (AAC). The method's applicability was tested in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO) in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and healthy controls (HCs). A framework for analysis of diffusion parameters was developed. Spatial normalization of the tracts was performed using anatomical landmarks, to avoid deformations caused by cerebral atrophy. Initially, 38 HCs were used to optimize a threshold for the minimal size of regions that differ between groups. The fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, AAC, and the hemispheric asymmetry index (AI), were compared between 11 PSP patients and 15 HCs. The method was feasible for analysis of PSP patients and HCs. The AI showed that the observed hemispheric asymmetry of AAC was significantly larger in PSP patients compared with HCs in small regions of the IFO. The method was successfully employed for analysis of diffusion parameters along the IFO in a patient group. This method can be potentially useful in studies of WM diseases, with or without cerebral atrophy.
9.
Nilsson, Markus
(författare)
Biophysical modelling in diffusion MRI: The role of tissue microstructure and water exchange
2011
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Diffusion MRI is widely used to study brain structure in vivo. While this technique is often applied to investigations of brain connectivity, it can also be used to infer specific information about the tissue microstructure; for example, to estimate the axon diameter. In the present work, the role of tissue microstructure and water exchange in biophysical models employed in diffusion MRI was investigated. Specialised diffusion measurements were performed in white matter of healthy volunteers and in subacute stroke lesions. The results showed that exchange between microenvironments with different diffusivities contributes to the outcome of the diffusion MRI experiment. Concerns regarding the accuracy and precision of model-parameter estimates were addressed by using Monte Carlo simulations of the diffusion MRI experiment. The results showed that axon diameters can be accurately estimated above the resolution limit of the experiment. The fraction of water restricted to the axons, however, became underestimated at high exchange rates, although a remedy for this problem was suggested. Additional simulations showed the importance of modelling the three-dimensional structural properties of nerves containing undulating axons. Neglecting the presence of such undulations could result in overestimation of axon diameters. Stretching or compression of tissue comprising undulating axons may result in alterations of the diffusivity possible to detect by diffusion MRI. The filtered exchange imaging (FEXI) method was developed in order to improve the sensitivity of diffusion MRI to diffusional water exchange. Measurements on yeast cell suspensions using NMR spectrometers and a clinical MRI scanner were used to validate the method. FEXI was successfully applied to determine the water exchange rate in the healthy human brain and in a brain tumour, showing that systematic investigation of the water exchange rate in vivo is possible. In conclusion, this work improved the feasibility of using clinical MRI scanners to investigate tissue microstructure and the rate of water exchange.
10.
Nilsson, Markus, et al.
(författare)
Evaluating the accuracy and precision of a two-compartment Kärger model using Monte Carlo simulations.
2010
Ingår i: Journal of Magnetic Resonance. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-0856 .- 1090-7807. ; 206:1, s. 59-67
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Specific parameters of the neuronal tissue microstructure, such as axonal diameters, membrane permeability and intracellular water fractions are assessable using diffusion MRI. These parameters are commonly estimated using analytical models, which may introduce bias in the estimated parameters due to the approximations made when deriving the models. As an alternative to using analytical models, a database of signal curves generated by fast Monte Carlo simulations can be employed. Simulated diffusion MRI measurements were generated and evaluated using the two-compartment Kärger model as well as the simulation model based on a database containing signal curves from approximately 60000 simulations performed with different combinations of microstructural parameters. A protocol based on a pulsed gradient spin echo sequence with diffusion times of 30 and 60ms and with gradient amplitudes obtainable with a clinical MRI scanner was employed for the investigations. When using the analytical model, a major negative bias (up to approximately 25%) in the estimated intracellular volume fraction was observed for short exchange times, while almost no bias was seen for the simulation model. In general, the simulation model improved the accuracy of the estimated parameters as compared to the analytical model, except for the exchange time parameter.
