Human imaging at 9.4 T using T2-, phase-, and susceptibility-weighted contrast

The effect of susceptibility differences on an MR image is known to increase with field strength. Magnetic field inhomogeneities within the voxels influence the apparent transverse relaxation time T2*, while effects due to different precession frequencies between voxels caused by local field variati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Magnetic resonance in medicine 2011-02, Vol.65 (2), p.544-550
Main Authors: Budde, Juliane, Shajan, G., Hoffmann, Jens, Uğurbil, Kâmil, Pohmann, Rolf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
phase images
susceptibility-weighted images
ultrahigh field
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The effect of susceptibility differences on an MR image is known to increase with field strength. Magnetic field inhomogeneities within the voxels influence the apparent transverse relaxation time T2*, while effects due to different precession frequencies between voxels caused by local field variations are evident in the image phase, and susceptibility‐weighted imaging highlights the veins and deep brain structures. Here, these three contrast mechanisms are examined at a field strength of 9.4 T. The T2* maps generated allow the identification of white matter structures not visible in conventional images. Phase images with in‐plane resolutions down to 130 μm were obtained, showing high gray/white matter contrast and allowing the identification of internal cortical structures. The susceptibility‐weighted images yield excellent visibility of small venous structures and attain an in‐plane resolution of 175 μm. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0740-3194
1522-2594
1522-2594
DOI:10.1002/mrm.22632