Se-Hong Oh1, Ken Sakaie1, Stephen E. Jones1, and Mark J. Lowe1
Accurate identification
of the thalamus sub-structures is therefore important for localization of
specific nuclei and for the understanding of brain function. However, sub-structures
of the thalamus are so small and have intermediate signal characteristics
between grey/white matter it has been difficult to identify them with
conventional MR imaging technique.
In
this work, in-vivo T1 value at 7T are measured using fast T1
mapping technique in less than 2 min and optimized inversion time to generate
optimal contrast from the thalamus. The optimized results reveal markedly
improved anatomical detail of the sub-structures of the thalamus, including
their detailed locations.