Purpose: To increase the efficiency of densely encoded magnetization transfer imaging of the brain, we time-multiplex multiple slices within the same readout using simultaneous echo refocusing FLASH imaging with magnetization transfer (MT) preparation (MT-SER-FLASH). Materials and Methods: Inefficiency in total scan time results from the number of frequency samples needed for sufficient quality...

Inversion recovery sequences that vary the inversion time (t(i)) have been employed to determine T(1) and, more recently, quantitative magnetization transfer parameters. Specifically, in previous work, the inversion recovery pulse sequences varied t(i) only while maintaining a constant delay (t(d)) between repetitions. T(1) values were determined by fitting to a single exponential function, and...

Human prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by misfolding of the prion protein. There are no useful biomarkers of disease progression. Cerebral cortex spongiform change, one of the classical pathological features of prion disease, resolves in prion-infected transgenic mice following prion protein gene knockout. We investigated the cross-sectional, longitudinal and post-mor...

Magnetization transfer contrast has yielded insight into brain tissue microstructure changes across the lifespan and in a range of disorders. This progress has been aided by the development of quantitative magnetization transfer imaging techniques able to extract intrinsic properties of the tissue that are independent of the specifics of the data acquisition. While the tissue properties extract...

We report a semiautomated postprocessing method based on magnetization transfer MR imaging that can quantify the extent of global disease in patients with multiple sclerosis. The technique combines segmentation and quantitative analysis of imaging data reflecting the structural integrity of white matter. Applications of this technique may include assessment of disease progress and of the effica...