Rohan Dharmakumar1, Zhuoli Zhang1,
Ioannis Koktzoglou2, Sotirios A. Tsaftaris1,3, Debiao
Li1,4
1Radiology, Northwestern University,
Chicago, IL, United States; 2Radiology, NorthShore University
HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States; 3Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States; 4Biomedical
Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
Negative
contrast methods utilizing local magnetic susceptibility shifting agents have
become one of the most important approaches in cellular imaging research.
However, visualizing and tracking labeled cells on the basis of negative
contrast is often met with limited specificity and/or sensitivity. Here we
report on a cellular MRI method that generates a new contrast with a distinct
topology for identifying labeled cells permitting significant improvement in
sensitivity and specificity.