Hirotaka Ikeda¹, Yoshiharu Ohno¹, Kaori Yamamoto², Kazuhiro Murayama³, Masato Ikedo², Masao Yui², Satomu Hanamatsu¹, Saki Takeda⁴, Akiyoshi Iwase⁴, Yuki Obama¹, Takahiro Ueda¹, Hiroyuki Nagata¹, and Hiroshi Toyama^1
1Radiology, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan, ²Canon Medical Systems Corporation, Otawara, Japan, ³Joint Research Laboratory of Advanced Medical Imaging, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan, ⁴Radiology, Fujita Health University Hospital, Toyoake, Japan

No major studies have been reported for assessing the utility of DWI obtained by Fast Advanced Spin-Echo (FASE) with Deep Learning Reconstruction (DLR) for head and neck MR.  We hypothesized that DWI obtained by FASE with DLR could improve the image quality with less deformation and better diagnostic performance as compared with DWI obtained by Echo-Planar Imaging (EPI) in head and neck MR.  The purpose of this study was to compare the capability of DWI obtained by FASE and EPI sequences with and without DLR for image quality and diagnostic performance on DWI in patients suspected head and neck tumors.

Xinyu Ye¹, Xiaodong Ma², Ziyi Pan¹, Steen Moller², Eddie Auerbach², Kamil Ugurbil², Xiaoping Wu², and Hua Guo^1
1Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, ²Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Radiology, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States

Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) suffers from the intrinsic low SNR, especially for high-resolution and/or high b-value acquisitions. Thus, denoising methods are critical for diffusion images. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to complex DWI image denoising. Here, we propose a 2-step non-local low-rank joint denoising method to process complex-valued DWI images. Simulation data and in-vivo brain data were used to test the proposed method. The results showed that the proposed method may further improve the image quality.

Na Zhang¹, Xianjun Li¹, Congcong Liu¹, Yao Ge¹, Yuying Feng¹, Pengxuan Bai¹, Miaomiao Wang¹, and Jian Yang^1
1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China

The high signal intensity on T2-weighted images in terminal zones (TZ) mainly associated with lower maturational degree. We hypothesized that the stiffness in these regions may be different from typical developing children without TZ. Virtual stiffness of brain can be measured safely with virtual magnetic resonance elastography (vMRE). Therefore, this study tried to use vMRE to investigate differences between children with and without TZ. Results demonstrated that virtual stiffness of TZ was lower than controls, while higher than periventricular leukomalacia. These suggest that vMRE may provide additional information for evaluating brain maturation and injury.

Jiaqiu Wang¹, Thomas Barrick², Matt Hall³, Muge Karaman⁴, Richard Magin⁴, David Reiter⁵, Qianqian Yang⁶, Qiang Yu¹, Fatima Nasrallah ⁷, Weeyao Koh⁸, and Viktor Vegh^1,9
1Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ²Neuroscience Research Centre, St George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom, ³National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, United Kingdom, ⁴Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States, ⁵Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁶School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, ⁷Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ⁸National University Cancer Institute Singapore, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore, ⁹ARC Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) provides a method of mapping slow and fast diffusion using a two-exponential model. Whilst this method has been applied in acute stroke, brain cancer and muscle, for example, it does have challenges. These include how to best fit the three model parameters which on top of the two diffusion coefficients includes the fast diffusion volume fraction (i.e., perfusion fraction), and how to best sample b-values which lead to robust model parameter fits. Here we propose an approach based on quasi-diffusion which helps constrain the model fit and show reproducibility under different b-value sampling regimes.  

Xin Zhao¹, Chunxiang Zhang¹, Bohao Zhang², Jiayue Yan³, Jinxia Guo⁴, Kaiyu Wang⁴, Zitao Zhu⁵, and Xiaoan Zhang^6
1Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China, ²Henan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Institute of Neuroscience and Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China, ³McGill university Montreal, Zhengzhou, China, ⁴GE Healthcare, MR Research China, Beijing, China, ⁵Wuhan University, Wuhan, China, ⁶The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

Preterm infants are at high risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Therefore, it is necessary to find a tool to detect brain developmental abnormalities earlier. Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is considered as a more accurate technology based on a kurtosis model accounting for the variation of Gaussian distribution caused by complex cellular environments in compare with diffusion tensor imaging. The mean kurtosis (MK) in posterior limbs of the internal capsule (PLIC), anterior limb of internal capsule (ALIC), the mean diffusion (MD) in parietal white matter (PWM) were found with good diagnostic performance for abnormal brain microstructural change.

Maryam Tayebi^1,2, Eryn Kwon^1,2, William Schierding³, Joshua McGeown², Matthew McDonald^2,4, Paul Condron², Leigh Potter², Miao Qiao⁵, Jerome Maller⁶, Samantha Holdsworth^2,7, Justin Fernandez¹, Alan Wang¹, and Vickie Shim^1,2
1Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, ²Mātai Medical Research Institute, Gisborne, New Zealand, ³Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, ⁴Department of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, ⁵School of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, ⁶General Electric Healthcare, Victoria, Australia, ⁷Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences & Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

We conducted a multimodal MRI study on high school rugby players with bespoke kinematic mouthguard sensors to investigate the correlation between the cumulative effects of subconcussive head impact exposure and any change in the structure of the brain. Despite being underpowered, the study found that the volume of the corpus callosum changed the most over a season of rugby (PCA); Axial Diffusivity of the UF and ILF tracts negatively correlated with the cumulative impact sustained by the athletes. Further investigation of the cumulative effect of playing high-contact sports over an extended period is required, especially for children with developing brains. 

Shuang Li¹, Xiaorui Su¹, and Qiang Yue^2
1radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, Chengdu, China, ²radiology, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, Chengdu, China

Preoperative identification of IDH and 1p/19q codeletion could help clinical doctors make the optimal therapy plan. Although, there were few diagnostic studies could provide quantitative cutoff values of ADC and/or CBVfor identifying genogroup of gliomas. In this study, we calculated histogram metrics of ADC and CBV based on core tumor and used these metrics intersection MRS to establish diagnostic models to identify IDH mutant station and 1p/19q codeletion in turn. The main results showed that histogram metrics of ADC and CBV were powerful for identifying molecular status in adult gliomas. And MRS concentrations could improve diagnostic performance in both models.

Congcong Liu¹, Miaomiao Wang¹, Xianjun Li¹, Yao Ge¹, and Jian Yang^1
1the Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China

Punctate white matter lesions (PWMLs) were currently common white matter injuries, with incidence of 20-30% and associated with adverse neurological development. Longitudinal alteration of PWMLs was less researched which might be related to pathology. Therefore, this study aimed to assess alterations of PWMLs virtual shear stiffness in neonates via DKI-based virtual elastography. We found that virtual shear stiffness of PWMLs was higher than contemporaneous white matter at neonatal periods and did not change obviously with age, while virtual shear stiffness of normal white matter was increased with age. Virtual elastography might be a potential method to identify differently nosological PWMLs.

Yongbing Sun¹, Xin Zhao¹, Jinxia Guo², Lingsong Meng¹, Desheng Xuan¹, Xiongpeng He¹, and Xiaoan Zhang^1
1the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China, ²GE Healthcare, Beijing, China

In this study, DKI combined with synthetic MRI of magnetic resonance imaging compilation (MAGiC) was used to assess the developmental integrity of the caput nuclei caudati of children with ASD and language deficits, and the relationship between DKI parameters and language test scores were explored. 

Wei Chuang¹, Vincent Chin-Hung Chen^2,3, Yuan-Hsiung Tsai^2,4, and Jun-Cheng Weng^1,3,5
1Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Graduate Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ²School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ³Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ⁴Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ⁵Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women, and most of them suffered from chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). In this study, we aimed to use generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI) to detect the relationship between GQI indices and mood symptoms caused by chemotherapy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or post-traumatic growth (PTG). Using statistical multiple regression, we found the relationship change between GQI indices and depression, and a consistent relationship was obtained between GQI indices and anxiety with or without chemotherapy. The results indicated that neurotoxicity or traumatic stressors may affect brain structures.

Chih-Chien Tsai^1,2, Sher Li Oh³, Chiung-Mei Chen⁴, Yih-Ru Wu⁴, Maria Valdes Hernandez^5,6, Jur-Shan Cheng⁷, Yao-Liang Chen⁸, Yi-Ming Wu⁸, Yu-Chun Lin⁸, and Jiun-Jie Wang^1,2,9,10
1Department of Medical imaging and Radiological Science, Chang-Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ²Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ³Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore, ⁴Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ⁵Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, Department of Neuroimaging Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ⁶Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ⁷Clinical Informatics and Medical Statistics Research Center, Chang-Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ⁸Department of f Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ⁹Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University/Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ¹⁰Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

Microstructure damage in white matter might be linked to regional and global atrophy in Huntington Disease. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) has recently emerged as a useful fiber-specific tool for examining white matter structure, which could be an important contributor to the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease. Therefore, we investigate the utility of FBA as a biomarker for disease progression. Our findings indicated the reductions in FBA occurs in major white matter tracts, which was closely co-localized with the regions of increased diffusivity in basal ganglia. FBA analysis is effective in studying white matter tractography and fiber changes in Huntington’s Disease.

Laleh Eskandarian^1,2, Müşerref Kasap Cüceoğlu³, Selcan Demir³, Tuna Cak⁴, Ebru Cengel Kultur⁴, Yelda Bilginer³, Seza Ozen³, and Kader K Oguz^2,5
1Neuroscience Department, Bilkent University, ANKARA, Turkey, ²National Magnetic Resonance Research Center (UMRAM), Bilkent University, ANKARA, Turkey, ³Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology, Hacettepe University, ANKARA, Turkey, ⁴Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Psychiatry, Hacettepe University, ANKARA, Turkey, ⁵Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University, ANKARA, Turkey

Central nervous system in childhood-onset SLE shows an increased risk of damage due to onset age, accumulating disease effect and other possible pathophysiologic mechanisms. Thus, an understanding of the timing and extent of changes occurring in the brains of these young patients with SLE is important for new therapeutic strategies. With this purpose, we investigated whether brain network and white matter microstructural changes occur in non-neuropsychiatric SLE patients with disease onset at childhood. TBSS and graph analysis of DTI data, showed significant alterations in white matter integrity and global and nodal connectivity, which revealed correlations with disease duration and severity.

Shun Kitano¹, Yuki Kanazawa², Masafumi Harada², Yo Taniguchi³, Yuki Matsumoto², Hiroaki Hayashi⁴, Kosuke Ito³, Yoshitaka Bito³, and Akihiro Haga^2
1Graduate of Health Science, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan, ²Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan, ³FUJIFILM Healthcare Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, ⁴College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

We determined MWF derived from QPM-relaxation parameters using quadratic polynomial approximation. Two types of myelin imaging were generated; MWF derived from multi-echo gradient-echo and R₁·R₂^* map derived from QPM, which were standardized from twelve healthy volunteers to MNI. As a result, the relationship between MWF and R₁·R₂^* values on the white matter region strongly correlated with a quadratic polynomial approximation (R² = 0.991). Using acquired quadratic polynomial approximation, the R₁·R₂^* map was converted to MWF. Our MWF map derived from QPM can dramatically improve image quality when compared to the general MWF.

Qiong Ye^1
1High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China

Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) can reveal the pathophysiological changes such as myelin, iron deposition, and tissue oxygenation. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is an effective tool to assess the integrity of white matter. In our study, we performed whole-brain analysis of rat QSM and DTI using the recently reported SIGMA rat brain template (Nature Communication, 2019). The whole-brain segmentation demonstrated excellent performance. The derived parameters show high repeatability and are sensitive to age-related changes.