Alice Little¹, Eryn Kwon^1,2,3, Soroush Safaei², Gonzalo Maso Talou², David Dubowitz¹, Miriam Scadeng^1,3, Sarah-Jane Guild^2,4, and Samantha Holdsworth^1,3
1Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences & Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, ²Auckland Bioengineering Institute, Auckland, New Zealand, ³Mātai Medical Research Institute, Gisborne, New Zealand, ⁴Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Heartbeat-driven brain motion has historically remained limited to the domain of research. Such motion may provide a window into conditions that alter the brain pressure where direct, invasive measurements are difficult to justify. Amplified MRI (aMRI) is a recently developed method which amplifies subtle brain motion, providing high temporal resolution and high contrast ‘videos’ of brain motion patterns. In an ovine model of elevated intracranial pressure we show preliminary data that aMRI can be used to detect changes in brain motion associated with pressure, indicating potential to provide non-invasive insight into the mechanical changes in patients with altered intracranial pressure.

Yang Ruan¹, Yimin Huang², Xuejun He², Huaqiu Zhang², and Hongxia Lei^1
1Wuhan United Imaging Life Science Instrument Co., Ltd., China, Wuhan, China, ²Department of Neurosurgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College,, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

We applied T2/T1-weighted MRI together with behavior, Hematoxylin&Eosin（HE）and immunohistochemistry fluorescence staining (IHC) to evaluate the role of microglial SMAD7, a novel therapeutic approach, in a TBI mouse model. The consistency between MRI results and behavior and myelin and neurnal marker outcomes suggest that the protective role of over-expression of microglial SMAD7 in TBI.

Tzu-Ming Hung¹, Sheng-Min Huang², Yun-Chieh Tsai³, Ting-Yu Chin⁴, and Hsu-Hsia Peng^1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ²Institute of biomedical engineering and nanomedicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan, Miaoli, Taiwan, ³Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City 114, Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴Department of Bioscience Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City 320, Taiwan, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Aging and collapsin response mediator protein 1 (CRMP-1) gene knockout (KO) mice may exhibit neural disorganization in hippocampus and demonstrate memory and spatial learning dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to quantify relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and MRS metabolites in hippocampus in wild type and aging CRMP-1 KO mice. There was no significant difference of rCBV value between the two groups. In comparison with wild type (WT) mice, KO mice possessed significant lower Glx/t-Cr level in hippocampus, illustrating the altered neural transmission function in aging CRMP-1 KO mice.

Junichi Hata^1,2,3, Reona Kobayashi², Yawara Haga², Mai Mizumura¹, Hinako Oshiro¹, Kanako Muta¹, Naoya Hayashi², Daisuke Yoshimaru³, Kei Hagiya², Hirotaka James Okano³, and Hideyuki Okano^2
1Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan, ²RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Saitama, Japan, ³The Jikei University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

In this study, we evaluated the characteristics of the brain in a genetically modified marmoset model of Parkinson’s disease. Various contrast mechanism images were acquired using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the whole brain underwent explorative investigation with each contrast. This study was evaluated for Parkinson’s disease marmoset by anatomical MRI, neural fiber tractography and awakening state functional MRI. Malti-contrast MRI showed diseases characteristics in the thalamus, the nigral striatum, motor circuit and anymore. The findings suggest that the marmoset is useful as a model animal to study human diseases.

Tomokazu Tsurugizawa^1,2,3, Takuma Kumamoto⁴, Daisuke Yoshimaru⁵, and Yoshichika Yoshioka^6
1Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan, ²Faculty of Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan, ³Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), Osaka University and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Osaka, Japan, ⁴Developmental Neuroscience Project, Department of Brain & Neurosciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan, ⁵Division of Regenerative Medicine, Jikei University school of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, ⁶Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

The potential of magnetic resonance microscopy is to image the multimodal function of the brain in small brain, such as embryo. In this study, we developed high resolution imaging of T1 image, T2 mapping, mean diffusivity, and neurite orientation dispersion by diffusion MRI in embryo and early postnatal (P07) in mouse. These values were different between embryo and early postnatal. Immunohistochemistry revealed distinct proliferation and maturation of neurons and astrocytes in these stages. These results indicate the possibility of high-resolution MR microscopy to detect the cellular maturation in development.

Miho C EMOTO¹, Shingo Sato², Hideo Sato-Akaba³, and Hirotada G Fujii^4
1Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Sapporo, Japan, ²Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan, ³Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan, ⁴Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari, Japan

Lipophilic 3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (MCP) has been used as a redox-sensitive nitroxide probe in MRI and EPR brain redox studies. Despite its success for this purpose, MCP cannot evaluate the redox status at both hydrophobic and hydrophilic brain regions. Accordingly, it is necessary to identify a lipophilic nitroxide that can penetrate the BBB and is hydrolyzed to hydrophilic nitroxide by neuronal esterase in the brain. For this purpose, lipophilic 3-acetoxymethoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl was prepared and compared with MCP. Brain redox EPR imaging revealed that these two probes each detect a different redox status according to the antioxidant levels in the brain.

Ming Lu¹, Zhangyan Yang^2,3, Feng Wang^2,4, Gary Drake^2,4, Li Min Chen^2,4, John Gore^2,3,4, and Xinqiang Yan^2,4
1College of nuclear equipment and nuclear engineering, Yantai University, Yantai, China, ²Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ⁴Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States

Simultaneous imaging of brain and spinal cord regions potentially provides valuable information about how they work together and interact. However, to date, almost all studies have investigated these two highly interconnected systems separately, mainly because of a lack of adequate imaging coils. We designed a volume Tx and conformal receive array dedicated to simultaneous imaging of squirrel monkey brain and spinal cord at 9.4 T. The coil exhibits excellent SNR in both brain and spinal cord areas and can be used for studies investigating how the brain and spinal cord work together.

Feng Du^1,2, Nan Li^1,2, Xing Yang^1,2, Baogui Zhang³, Xiaoliang Zhang⁴, Xin Liu^1,2, Hairong Zheng^1,2, and Ye Li^1,2
1Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China, ²Key Laboratory for Magnetic Resonance and Multimodality Imaging of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, China, ³Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United States

The development of RF coils for the ultrahigh-field(UHF) MRI system is greatly significant for biomedical research as it determines imaging performance. In this work，an 8-channel transceiver array was designed and constructed for UHF MRI at 9.4 T to take full advantage of the benefits provided by higher field strengths. The phantom and in vivo studies were performed on  preclinical 9.4 T MRI system to verify the proposed tansceiver performance. The results proved the ability of the proposed 8-channel transceiver array to obtain high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and high-spatial resolution MR images at 9.4T and indicated the potentiality for UHF MRIapplications.

Ying-Chieh Lai^1,2, Ching-Yi Hsieh^2,3,4, Kuan-Ying Lu^1,2, Albert P Chen⁵, Shu-Hang Ng^1,4, Fang-Hsin Chen^4,6, and Gigin Lin^1,2,3,4
1Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ²Clinical Metabolomics Core Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ³Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ⁴Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ⁵GE Healthcare, Toronto, ON, Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁶Radiation Biology Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Alterations in metabolism following radiotherapy affect therapeutic efficacy, although the mechanism underlying such alterations is unclear. The present study demonstrates the potential for monitoring early metabolic alterations in both cancer and immune cells following radiation treatment by using hyperpolarized ¹³C-MRI. We demonstrated that cancer cells (human FaDu squamous carcinoma) and immune cells (HMC3 microglial cells and THP-1 monocytes) had distinct metabolic responses to ionizing radiation. Western blot analysis confirmed the similar trends in LDHA and LDHB expression levels. We furthered the knowledge of metabolic alterations resulting from not only cancer cells but also immune cells in the tumor microenvironment.

Zhe Huang¹, Yu Jiang#¹, Xia Wang#¹, Sheng Zhang#¹, Heng Li#¹, and Dong Yue Han*^1
1Department of Radiology, Xi’an GaoXin Hospital, Xi’an Jiao Tong University, Xi’an, China

A study was carried out on the effect of Gadoxetate disodium (Gx) on the accuracy of liver fat content determined by 2-echos and 6-echos VIBE Dixon in rabbits with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in hepatobiliary specific phase. Proton density fat-fraction (PDFF) before and 13min. and 17min. after Gx enhancement had strong correlation with that of histopathology (r22E= 0.7643-0.8014 vs. r26E= 0.8208-0.8536). PDFF measured by 6E-VIBE Dixon was stable and reliable, especially for that before Gx enhancement(r26E= 0.8536). PDFF measured by 2E-VIBE Dixon fluctuated to some extent, however, it could be effectively corrected in the specific hepatobiliary phase after Gx enhancement.

jiaxing yang¹, Weiqiang Dou², changjie pan³, and haifeng shi^3
1Radiology, The Affiliated ChangzhouNo.2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China, ²MR Research China, Beijing, China, ³The Affiliated ChangzhouNo.2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China

This study demonstrated that intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can effectively estimate hepatic pathophysiological processes in a rat model with intestinal ischemia reperfusion (IIR) induced hepatic injury. The changes in microcirculation and perfusion were considered the major factors of IIR-induced hepatic injury. IVIM derived parameters of f and D* as well as DCE related parameter of V_e and K^trans revealed high sensitivity to histological change, implying that IVIM and DCE-MRI might be an effective tool to evaluate the process of IIR-induced hepatic injury.

Yan Ren¹ and Wen Shen^1
1Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China

The study evaluated the use of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) imaging to detect dynamic changes in renal microvascular characteristics during cold ischemia-reperfusion injuries (CIRIs). As previous studies have investigated warm ischemia-reperfusion injuries, we aimed to assess MR diffusion imaging in a renal CIRI Sprague Dawley rat model. Results showed that IVIM imaging is a sensitive tool to monitor changes in renal functional characteristics.

Yuankui Wu¹, Liuji Guo¹, Jun Hua^2,3, Xiaomin Liu¹, Yikai Xu¹, and Kan Deng^4
1Department of Medical Imaging, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, ²Neurosection, Division of MRI Research, Department of Radiology,, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴Philips Healthcare, Guangzhou, China

Accurate preoperative evaluation of lymph nodes (LNs) involvement is of vital importance for clinical decisions and optimizing individual treatment regimens. Related studies showed elevated perfusion at the level of capillary in metastatic LNs. Inflow-based vascular space occupancy (iVASO) is a novel and noninvasive perfusion technology that can provide absolute blood volume of precapillary arterioles (arteriolar blood volume, BVa). In this study, the potential value of BVa in detecting metastatic LNs was investigated. The results showed that the BVa might have the potential to detect early metastases within lymph nodes.

Hyun Seok Moon^1,2,3, Seonghoon Kim^1,4, Thanh Tan Vo^1,2,3, Geun Ho Im¹, Myunghwan Choi^1,4, and Seong-Gi Kim^1,2,3
1Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ³Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ⁴School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

Cortex-wide, spatial-patterned optogenetic mouse fMRI with online stimulation planning in situ.

Taekwan Lee¹, Taeyi You^2,3, Geun Ho Im³, Seong-Gi Kim^2,3,4, Sungkwon Chung⁵, and Jung Hee Lee^2,3,6
1Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, Korea, Republic of, ²Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyungkwan University, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ³Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ⁴Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyungkwan University, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ⁵Physiology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ⁶Radiology, Sungkyungkwan University, Suwon, Korea, Republic of

It is well known environmental factors can affect brain plasticity in humans, yet finding strong correlative factors is difficult due to the long development and complexity of human research. Mouse enrichment studies allows for better controlled research and by combining it with fMRI, makes mapping brain-wide plasticity changes possible. Here, we treated mice into three groups of enrichment, standard caging, and isolated caging to see how their brain responds to multiple-sensory stimulations. We found the enrichment group responded stronger in multimodal midbrain and thalamic areas. The isolated group responded less suggesting mouse fMRI is viable in detecting plasticity changes.