ISMRM23 - Physical Mechanisms, Methods & Applications of Inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (ihMT)

ISMRM & ISMRT Annual Meeting & Exhibition • 03-08 June 2023 • Toronto, ON, Canada

Physical Mechanisms, Methods & Applications of Inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (ihMT)

Member-Initiated Symposium

Wednesday, 07 June 2023

716A/B

13:30 - 15:30

Moderators: Guillaume Duhamel & Elena Vinogradov

Session Number: MIST-05

No CME/CE Credit

Organizers: David Alsop, Guillaume Duhamel & Elena Vinogradov

Overview:
Much of the sensitivity of MRI to tissues and pathology relates to the relaxation characteristics of motion restricted molecules that exchange with the mobile water protons that are more readily imaged. In addition to T2 and T1 relaxation, motion restricted molecules have characteristic dipolar order relaxation times, T1D, that reflect the decay of energy stored in the dipolar interactions between neighboring protons. Of particular interest, T1D can probe a range of collective motions not accessible by standard T1 and T2 with MRI. The effects of T1D can be measured by a modified Magnetization Transfer method known as Inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (ihMT). ihMT has already demonstrated greater specificity to myelinated tissue due to the long T1D of membrane lipids, but ihMT can be optimized to observe shorter T1D’s in a range of tissues.

Though ihMT was initially observed and developed in a few specialized centers, the development of ihMT is at a critical juncture with the availability of prototypes sequences for commercial scanners and initial results appearing from clinical applications. This proposed symposium would serve to educate the attendees on the basics of ihMT while highlighting the latest understanding of the related physical mechanisms, the newest approaches to image acquisition, and the range of potential applications.

Target Audience:
MR physicists, clinical researchers, neuroscientists, clinicians, and technologists

As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
- Explain the physical mechanisms of dipolar order and its relaxation and how they contribute to the measured ihMT;
- Describe the potential sequences for generating ihMT contrast and how they can be used to enhance specificity for particular T1D components; and
- Explain how ihMT can be included in research studies to characterize tissue structure and function in health and disease.

13:30		The Physical Mechanisms of ihMT Carl Michal University of British Columbia
13:45		Approaches to ihMT MRI Gopal Varma Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
14:00		Up-To-Date Approaches To Analyze & Quantify ihMT Fanny Munsch Université de Bordeaux
14:15		On the Orientation Dependence of ihMT in White Matter Fibers Olivier Girard Aix Marseille University
14:30		Between Theory & Applications: The Added Value of Preclinical ihMT Studies Andreea Hertanu Lausanne University Hospital
14:45		Pediatric Applications of ihMT Catherine Lebel University of Calgary
15:00		On the Use of ihMT for Neurodegenerative & Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Virginie Callot CRMBM-CEMEREM, CNRS / Aix-Marseille University