Can T1w/T2w ratio be used as a myelin ‐specific measure in subcortical structures? Comparisons between FSE‐based T1w/T2w ratios, GRASE‐based T1w/T2w ratios and multi‐echo GRASE‐based myelin water fractions

This study reports on the feasibility of using T2‐weighted (T2w) images extracted from multi‐echo three‐dimensional gradient and spin echo (3D GRASE) sequences for T1w/T2w ratio mapping, and evaluates how T1w/T2w ratios perform as a myelin‐specific measure in human brain. Our findings suggest that both fast spin echo (FSE)‐ and GRASE‐based T1w/T2w approaches measure similar facets of subcortical tissue microstructure, but do not appear to be specific to myelin. T1w/T2w ratios and myelin water fractions (MWFs) appear to be sensitized to different microstructural properties, thereby providing two separate measures of tissue microstructure using the same data.

Source: NMR in Biomedicine - January 9, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Md Nasir Uddin, Teresa D. Figley, Ruth Ann Marrie, Chase R. Figley, Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research