Signal profile measurements of single- and double-volume acquisitions with image-selected in vivo spectroscopy for 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The volume-selection performance was studied for single- and double-volume-of-interest (VOI) acquisition with the volume-selection method image-selected in vivo spectroscopy for ³¹P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. High-resolution signal profiles were measured using a phantom simulating a brain. Inside the phantom there was a small, remotely controlled, movable signal source filled with ortho-phosphoric acid. Signal profiles of the VOI were measured in three perpendicular directions for 1VOI (single VOI) and 2VOI (double VOI) acquisition. The measured signal profiles for both acquisitions were very similar, but they showed a discrepancy with regard to the intended VOI (iVOI). The transition regions were on average 3.8 mm and the average full width at half maximum of the signal profile was 30 mm for an iVOI size of 30130130 (mm³). No displacement was observed in the signal profiles. To avoid overlapping signal profiles, the minimum separation between two iVOIs was found to be 10 mm in our magnetic resonance (MR) system. A substantial negative signal contribution from regions outside the iVOI was measured in the y-direction for 1VOI acquisition and one of the two VOIs in 2VOI acquisition. The other VOI in 2VOI acquisition exhibited only minor contamination. The measurements presented underline the importance of detailed knowledge on the volume selection performance in in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy.     

Estimation of the in vivo decay rate of EPR signals for a nitroxide radical in rat brains by a region-selected intensity determination method

The region-selected intensity determination (RSID) method was proposed to obtain the temporal changes in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity from a selected region by a stationary magnetic field gradient. To select the region, the subtraction field that was derived from the distance between the center and the projection of the selected region to the direction of the field gradient was applied to the main field. The directions of the stationary magnetic field gradient at a constant strength were systematically changed in a three-dimensional space after each acquisition of the spectrum. All spectra under the field gradient were accumulated and the resultant spectrum was deconvoluted by a spectrum without the field gradient. The center height of the deconvoluted spectrum indicates the signal intensity of the selected region. To verify this method, a phantom or in vivo study was conducted on a 700 MHz radio-frequency EPR spectrometer equipped with a bridged loop-gap resonator. In the temporal EPR measurements of phantoms including a nitroxide radical aqueous solution with and without ascorbic acid, the selected regions were alternatively changed at the position of the two phantoms. The signal intensity derived from the one phantom showed an exponential decay, and for the other phantom, no temporal changes. The spatial resolution of this method was estimated to be 2.7 mm by using a pinpoint phantom that included diphenylpicrylhydrazyl powder. In the in vivo temporal EPR measurements, the selected regions were alternatively changed at the cerebral cortex and the striatum of rats that had received a blood-brain barrier-permeative nitroxide radical. The decay rate of the signal intensity at each region obtained by this method was consistent with those previously reported.     

Accurate and sensitive measurements of magnetic susceptibility using echo planar imaging

Susceptibility differences are common causes for artifacts in magnetic resonance (MR); therefore, it is important to choose phantom materials in a way that these artifacts are kept at a minimum. In this study, a previously proposed MR imaging (MRI) method [Beuf O, Briguet A, Lissac M, Davis R. Magnetic resonance imaging for the determination of magnetic susceptibility of materials. J Magn Reson 1996; Series B(112):111-118] was improved to facilitate sensitive in-house measurements of different phantom materials so that such artifacts can more easily be minimized. Using standard MRI protocols and distilled water as reference, we measured magnetic volume susceptibility differences with a clinical MR system. Two imaging techniques, echo planar imaging (EPI) and spin echo, were compared using liquid samples whose susceptibilities were verified by MR spectroscopy. The EPI sequence has a very narrow bandwidth in the phase-encoding direction, which gives an increased sensitivity to magnetic field inhomogeneities. All MRI measurements were evaluated in two ways: (1) manual image analysis and (2) model fitting. The narrow bandwidth of the EPI made it possible to detect very small susceptibility differences (equivalent susceptibility difference, Deltachi(e)> or =0.02 ppm), and even plastics could be measured. Model fitting yielded high accuracy and high sensitivity and was less sensitive to other image artifacts as compared with manual image analysis.     

Combination of integrated dynamic shimming and readout-segmented echo planar imaging for diffusion weighted MRI of the head and neck region at 3 Tesla

PurposeTo evaluate the performance of combined integrated slice-by-slice shimming and readout-segmented EPI (irsEPI) for diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) of the neck at 3 Tesla.MethodsThis study was approved by the local ethics committee. An anthropometric phantom of the head/neck region incorporating compartments with different diffusivities was constructed. In vivo measurements were performed in 10 healthy volunteers. DWI of the phantom and volunteers was performed on a 3 Tesla MR scanner using single shot EPI (sEPI), a prototype single shot EPI with integrated slice-by-slice shimming (iEPI), readout segmented EPI (rsEPI) and a prototype readout segmented EPI with integrated shimming irsEPI. Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) and spatial distortions of phantom compartments were quantified. For phantom and volunteer measurements, the presence of geometric distortions, signal losses, ghosting artifacts as well as overall image quality were visually assessed on a 4-point scale by two radiologists in consensus. In addition, failure of fat saturation was assessed in volunteer data.ResultsQuantification of ADC within the phantom compartments was comparable using the different EPI techniques without significant variations. Using irsEPI, spatial distortions in phase-encoding direction were markedly reduced compared to iEPI, rsEPI and especially sEPI. irsEPI yielded significantly better overall image quality compared to sEPI, iEPI and rsEPI in phantom data as well as volunteer measurements. Markedly reduced geometric distortions and signal loss as well as better fat saturation were observed using irsEPI.ConclusionThe use of irsEPI significantly improves image quality and reduces artifacts caused by magnetic field inhomogeneities in EPI based DWI of the head/neck at 3 Tesla.     

Functional phantom for fMRI: a feasibility study

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals changes in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal after considerable processing. This paper describes the implementation and testing of an fMRI phantom where electric current applied to a thin wire within a proton-rich medium substituted BOLD distortion of the magnetic field; the scanner detects these two distortions as practically identical signal changes. The magnitude of the change depended on the current strength. The phantom has a number of possible applications. Signal changes across sessions, days, instruments and individuals could be monitored. Placing the phantom close to a subject during an fMRI experiment could allow differentiating sensitivity changes in the scanner due to instrumentation from changes in the subject's state and performance during the experiment. The spatial extent of brain activations and effects of various changes in the chain of image formation could be analyzed using current-induced "activations". Furthermore, the phantom could expedite fMRI sequence development by reducing the need to scan human subjects, who introduce uncertainty to the signal. Thus, this fMRI phantom could be useful for both cognitive fMRI studies and scanner calibration.     

On the influence of two coexisting species of susceptibility-producing structures on the R21 relaxation rate

PurposeTissue microstructure can influence quantitative magnetic resonance imaging such as relaxation rate measurements. Consequently, relaxation rate mapping can provide useful information on tissue microstructure. In this work, the theory on relaxation mechanisms of the change of the relaxation rate ∆R₂^⁎ in the presence of spherical susceptibility sources in a spin bearing medium is validated in simulations and phantom experiments for the coexistence of two species of susceptibility sources.MethodsThe influence of coexisting spherical perturbers with magnetic susceptibilitys of different signs was evaluated in Monte Carlo simulations including diffusion effects in the surrounding medium. Simulations were compared with relaxometry measurements at 1.5 Tesla and at 3 Tesla. The phantoms used to validate the simulations were built from agarose gel containing calcium carbonate and tungsten carbide particles of different size and concentration.ResultsThe Monte Carlo simulations showed, that the change in relaxation rate only depends on the overall amount of susceptibility producing structures in the simulation volume and no difference was found, if mixtures of positive and negative particles were simulated. Phantom measurements within the static dephasing regime showed linear additivity of the effects from positive and negative susceptibility sources that were present within the same voxel.ConclusionsIn summary, both the simulations and the phantom measurements showed that changes in the relaxation rate ΔR₂^⁎ add up linearly for spherical particles with different susceptibilities within the same voxel if the conditions for the static dephasing regime are fulfilled. If particles with different susceptibilities have both different sizes and violate the conditions of the static dephasing regime, effects on relaxation rates might no longer be linear.     

Electromagnetic articulograph based on a nonparametric representation of the magnetic field

Electromagnetic articulograph (EMA) devices are capable of measuring movements of the articulatory organs inside and outside the vocal tract with fine spatial and temporal resolutions, thus providing useful articulatory data for investigating the speech production process. The position of the receiver coil is detected in the EMA device on the basis of a field function representing the spatial pattern of the magnetic field in relation to the relative positions of the transmitter and receiver coils. Therefore, the design and calibration of the field function are quite important and influence the accuracy of position detection. This paper presents a nonparametric method for representing the magnetic field, and also describes a method for determining the receiver position from the strength of the induced signal in the receiver coil. The field pattern in this method is expressed by using a multivariate spline as a function of the position in the device's coordinate system. Because of the piecewise property of the basis functions and the freedom in the selection of the rank and the number of the basis functions, the spline function has a superior ability to flexibly and accurately represent the field pattern, even when it suffers from fluctuations caused by the interference between the transmitting channels. The position of the receiver coil is determined by minimizing the difference between the measured strength of the received signal and the predicted one from the spline representation of the magnetic field. Experimental results show that the error in estimating the receiver position is less than 0.1 mm for a 14 x 14-cm measurement area, and this error can be further reduced by using a spline-smoothing technique.     

The accuracy of signal intensity measurements in magnetic resonance imaging as evaluated within the knee.

Quantitative signal intensity measurements are being utilized in both clinical and research magnetic resonance imaging protocols. This paper addresses three questions in quantitative MRI measurements as evaluated within the knee: 1) the accuracy of quantitative measurements; 2) improvement of accuracy by phantom normalization; and 3) the amount of signal change that is clinically significant. Seven normal subjects were imaged on three different days within a 1-wk period. Test-tube phantoms of manganous chloride (MnCl2) were imaged posterior to the knee and were used to normalize each image. The variation in signal intensity within the same subject averaged 20% for both the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The phantom variation was approximately 18%. Signal intensity normalization by background subtraction, background division, phantom division, or a combination of subtraction and division did not significantly improve either the phantom variation or the ligament variation. Given that an individual ligament intensity will be measured with standard errors of +/- 20% of its value, we calculated the minimum increase in signal intensity to be considered abnormal relative to a normal ligament. A relative signal increase of 46% can be considered pathologic with 95% confidence. These findings emphasize that quantitative measurements must be carefully assessed when being applied in clinical settings.     

磁场下夹层结构的高能电子屏蔽性能

针对空间高能电子环境可能造成的航天设备故障、宇航员辐照损伤等情况,基于电子束返回效应,提出了一种磁场下金属/真空夹层式高能电子屏蔽结构。采用Geant4软件,模拟空间高能电子连续能谱,研究磁场下夹层式结构的高能电子屏蔽性能。此外,建立体素模型,计算射线在人体中的累积剂量,从而评估磁感应强度、屏蔽体材料对屏蔽性能的影响。结果表明:与传统被动屏蔽方式相比,夹层式结构具有电子屏蔽性能高、生成透射次级X射线少的特点;随着磁感应强度增加,体模中累积剂量下降,证明夹层结构的电子屏蔽性能不断提升;Ti/Ti材料组合的屏蔽方式具有更优越的高能电子屏蔽性能。该结构具备较好的高能电子屏蔽性能,将来有望对空间高能电子辐射环境进行有效防护。     

A distributed equivalent magnetic current based FDTD method for the calculation of E-fields induced by gradient coils

This paper evaluates a new, low-frequency finite-difference time-domain method applied to the problem of induced E-fields/eddy currents in the human body resulting from the pulsed magnetic field gradients in MRI. In this algorithm, a distributed equivalent magnetic current is proposed as the electromagnetic source and is obtained by quasistatic calculation of the empty coil's vector potential or measurements therein. This technique circumvents the discretization of complicated gradient coil geometries into a mesh of Yee cells, and thereby enables any type of gradient coil modelling or other complex low frequency sources. The proposed method has been verified against an example with an analytical solution. Results are presented showing the spatial distribution of gradient-induced electric fields in a multi-layered spherical phantom model and a complete body model.     

Fast functional brain signal changes detected by diffusion weighted fMRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become the method of choice in the study of system neuroscience, as evidenced by an explosion of such literature in the past decade. Contrast mechanisms based on the blood oxygenation level, volume, and flow changes have been used to non-invasively detect brain activation secondary to the neuronal activity. However, because of the hemodynamic modulations inherent in these signals, their spatial and temporal characteristics are influenced by the complex geometry and varying delivery speed of the brain vasculature. Consequently, spatial dispersions and temporal delays are commonly seen in the brain activity using fMRI. It is thus of critical importance to investigate alternative contrast mechanisms that may offer shorter temporal delays and more direct spatial localization. In light of a recent phantom study which demonstrated the possibility to detect the destructive phase addition from the spatially incoherent, yet temporally synchronized, displacements caused by the Lorentz force experienced during electrical conduction within a strong magnetic field, we seek to apply similar imaging technique to investigate the functional signal changes that may provide alternative temporal and spatial characteristics. It is found that by using heavy diffusion weighting, which is one form of displacement encoding strategies, to remove the vascular signal and sensitize the minute and incoherent displacement, one can detect fast dynamic signal changes synchronized to the task. This finding may help take an initial step toward direct non-invasive MRI detection of the neuronal activity with improved temporal accuracy.     

Magnetic susceptibility of (La,Ce) Al2 alloys

The low-field magnetic susceptibility of (La, Ce)Al₂ alloys with 1–20 at-% Ce was measured between 0.04 and 4 K. Up to 1.5 at-% Ce the impurity contribution to the susceptibility exhibits features which can be described in terms of a combined influence of the crystalline electric field and the Kondo effect. At very low temperatures the onset of interactions between the Ce impurities is indicated. The impurity coupling interactions determine the dependence on temperature and concentration of the more concentrated alloys. For the dilute alloys the impurity magnetization was determined from measurements of the susceptibility in magnetic fields up to 10 kOe. The magnetization as a function of temperature and field shows a typical anomaly which has been observed also in other Kondo systems.     

Effect of perturbations in an active medium on the instability of the difference frequency of laser radiation

A frequency-stabilized helium-neon laser with Zeeman frequency splitting in the magnetic field was studied. A series of pulses with repetition frequency equal to the frequency difference caused by the splitting of the gain profile by the magnetic field was used as a reference signal for a laser interferometer. The modulation of discharge current by electric noise or natural oscillations of the discharge current were found to lengthen the edges of these pulses, which decreases the accuracy of measurements with a laser interferometer.     

无创血糖近浮动基准参考测量方法的仿体实验验证

在近红外无创血糖测量中,由葡萄糖引起的信号变化十分微弱,极易受到人体背景、测量仪器、周围环境等变化的影响,限制了无创血糖检测的精度。针对这个问题,提出应用浮动基准位置理论进行背景变异的校正。但是由于个体的差异性与人体环境的复杂多变性,浮动基准位置会因人而异。通过对人体手掌三层皮肤模型进行蒙特卡洛模拟,发现其在1 000～1 700 nm近红外波段的浮动基准位置基本处于距光源径向距离2 mm附近。为了提高浮动基准位置理论在不同人体之间的适用性,提出了一种近浮动基准参考测量方法,即以径向距离2 mm处作为参考位置进行背景干扰的修正,并通过仿体实验验证其效果。选取与人体手掌皮肤模型的浮动基准位置较为接近的2%和3%浓度的Intralipid仿体溶液进行实验。实验结果表明近浮动基准修正法可以消减光源漂移对测量结果的影响,提高数据的重复性和稳定性;同时通过对不同葡萄糖含量的2%和3%浓度的Intralipid溶液进行多次漫反射信号采集并建立葡萄糖浓度预测模型,发现修正后的回归模型的预测均方根误差(RMSEP)分别降低了38.51%~79.98%和29.72%~52.22%,说明该方法能够比较有效地消除两个测量位置处共同的背景干扰,提高校正模型的预测精度。仿体实验验证的结果,为下一步近浮动基准参考测量方法的在体测量提供了有力的支撑。     

定量磁化率成像多回波相位拟合算法研究

定量磁化率成像(quantitative susceptibility mapping,QSM)技术大多采用多回波梯度回波序列采集相位数据,经加权最小二乘法(weighted linear least-square,WLS)拟合得到局部磁场分布.对于组织磁化率分布不均匀的区域,尤其是颅底部位,常规WLS算法拟合得到的局部磁场误差较大,导致相应部位磁化率分布图信噪比较低.针对常规WLS算法的这一不足,该文提出了一种截断WLS算法.对两种算法拟合得到的磁化率分布图对比研究发现,截断WLS算法可有效提高颅底部位定量磁化率分布图的图像质量,使其噪声明显下降.     

Magnetic field of bifilar lead

Results of cw⁶³Cu NMR measurements in dilute CuFe alloys containing from 0.01 up to 0.2 at.-% Fe are presented. The temperature was well above the Kondo temperature of this specimen. The broadening of the NMR line width is caused by the localized magnetic moment of the Fe impurities. The decreasing signal amplitude with increasing iron content is due to the quadrupolar interactions appearing simultaneously. The line broadening correspond strongly to that of the impurity susceptibility behaviour in CuFe. The quadrupolar disturbances are temperature independent. The influence of the simultaneously appearing magnetic and electric interactions on the spin lattice nuclear relaxation time is discussed.     

惯性约束聚变黑腔内等离子体界面处的动理学效应及其影响

在惯性约束聚变物理研究中，等离子体界面处的动理学效应及其时空演化特性近年来受到重点关注，因为它会显著影响激光能量沉积、激光等离子体不稳定性、辐照对称性、黑腔和内爆性能等诸多物理。准确描绘等离子体特征界面附近的动理学效应是惯性约束聚变物理设计的基本需求，也是高能量密度物理中的具有挑战且未完全解决的问题。重点回顾近几年来本团队围绕等离子体动理学效应及其影响开展的一些研究工作:（1）聚变黑腔中金等离子体与靶丸冕区等离子体边缘处的电场结构及其加速的高能离子对内爆对称性的影响；（2）激光光路上高Z-低Z等离子体界面处的电场产生机制及其导致的反常离子扩散对激光等离子体不稳定性的影响；（3）等离子体中电磁场结构的质子照相反演。     

Functional MR imaging of visual and motor cortex stimulation at high temporal resolution using a flash technique on a standard 1.5 tesla scanner

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed on a conventional 1.5 T scanner by means of a modified FLASH-technique at temporal resolutions of 80 and 320 ms. The method's stability was assessed by phantom measurements and by investigation of three volunteers resulting in a low amplitude (3%) periodic (4 s) signal modulation for the in vivo measurements, which was not observable in the phantom experiments. fMRI activation studies of motor and visual cortices of four adjacent slices were carried out on 12 healthy right-handed volunteers. Stimulation was performed by a triggered single white light flash or single finger-to-thumb opposition movement, respectively. Event-related response of visual and motor activation was traced over 10.24 s with a temporal resolution of 320 ms for the four slice measurements. Brain activation maps were calculated by correlation of measured signal time courses with a time-shifted boxcar function. Activation was quantified by calculation of percentual signal change in relation to the baseline. Observed signal magnitudes were about 5–7% in visual and about 8–12% in primary motor cortex. While photic response was delayed by about 2 s, motor stimulation showed an instantaneous increase of the MR signal. MR signal responses for both stimuli had decayed completely after about 5 s. Our results show that event-related fMRI enables mapping of brain function at sufficient spatial resolution with a temporal resolution of up to 80 ms on a conventional scanner.     

Direct detection of neuronal activity with MRI: Fantasy, possibility, or reality?

Hemodynamic-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques have proven to be extremely robust and sensitive methods for noninvasive detection and mapping of human brain activation. Nevertheless, limitations in temporal and spatial resolution as well as interpretation remain because hemodynamic changes accompanying brain activation are relatively sluggish and variable and therefore imprecise measures of neuronal activity. A hope among brain imagers would be to possess a technique that would allow direct mapping of brain activity with spatial resolution on the order of a cortical column and temporal resolution on the order of an action potential or at least a postsynaptic potential. Recent efforts in understanding the direct effects of neuronal activity on MRI signal have provided some degree of hope for those who want a more precise noninvasive brain activation mapping technique than fMRI as we know it now. While the manner in which electrical currents influence MRI signal is well understood, the manner in which neuronal firing spatially and temporally integrates on the spatial scale of an MRI voxel to produce a magnetic field shift and subsequently an NMR phase and/or magnitude change is not well understood. It is also not established that this field shift would be large or long enough in duration to be detected. The objective of this paper is to provide a perspective of the work that has been performed towards the direction of achieving direct neuronal current imaging with MRI. A specific goal is to further clarify what is understood about the theoretical and practical possibilities of neuronal current imaging. Specifically discussed are modeling efforts, phantom studies, in vitro studies, and human studies.     

A model of the properties of colloidal dispersions of weakly interacting fine ferromagnetic particles

A Monte Carlo technique has been used to simulate the magnetic properties of a colloidal dispersion of weakly interacting fine ferromagnetic particles. The initial susceptibility is shown to obey a Curie-Weiss like law in its variation with temperature. The ordering temperature in the Curie-Weiss law is found to increase with the diameter of the particles, the increase being associated with an increase in the local order in the system. Data from the Monte Carlo simulation is also used to assess the effects of interactions on the determination of particle size parameters from magnetic measurements. Investigation of the spatial correlation within the system reveals evidence of field induced particle agglomeration.