7 T MRG ile Tekil Siyatik Sinir Fasiküllerinin T2 Haritalandırılması

Özet (abstract)

Abstract Objective Neuropathies can selectively affect individual fascicles within peripheral nerves, but diagnosis is limited by MRI spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. This feasibility study aimed to leverage 7 T MRI to measure sub-millimetric T 2 maps of sciatic nerve fascicles in healthy subjects. Materials and methods Accelerated multi-echo spin–echo sequences were acquired in six healthy volunteers at 7 T. Acceleration included generalised autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition (GRAPPA) and GRAPPATINI, which integrates GRAPPA with model-based accelerated relaxometry. Extended phase graph (EPG) modelling of signal decay was used to compute T 2 maps. Quantitative maps were visually assessed and T 2 values were extracted from regions of interest. Results High-resolution imaging (0.4×0.4x3.0 mm 3 ) enabled visualisation of individual fascicles. T 2 values were lower in fascicles (57.0 ms) than in the non-fascicular intraneural compartment (76.2 ms) and intermuscular fat (132.7 ms). Compared with GRAPPA alone, GRAPPATINI reduced acquisition time (11:05 to 3:35 min) while maintaining fascicle depiction and T 2 consistency (mean difference: 1.45 ms). Overlaying T 2 on S 0 maps enhanced fascicle delineation, facilitating anatomical interpretation. Discussion This approach demonstrated the feasibility of high-resolution T 2 mapping of peripheral nerve fascicles at 7 T, offering a potential tool for improved assessment of nerve microstructure and early neuropathy detection.

Yazarların özeti; kaynağından alınmıştır. Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics Biology and Medicine, 2026 · DOI ↗