Bing Yao1, Francesca Bagnato1, Hellmut Merkle1, Peter van Gelderen1, Fredric K. Cantor1, Joan Ohayon1, Henry McFarland1, Jeff H. Duyn1
1NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD , USA
R2* and phase images have been exploited to investigate brain tissue microstructure. In this study, MS patients and brain specimens of an MS deceased patient were imaged using a 7 T MR scanner and the R2* and phase images were investigated. Heterogeneity appearances of the MS lesions are found in the high resolution R2* and phase images, for both in-vivo and extra-vivo tissues. We here aim at providing new insights on the major sources that contribute to the MRI contrast in MS lesions.