Abstract #0407

Application of Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) Imaging to Examine Amide Proton Transfer (APT) in the Spinal Cord at 3T

Adrienne N. Dula^1,2, Richard D. Dortch^1,2, Bennett A. Landman^1,3, John C. Gore^1,2, Seth A. Smith^1,2

¹Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; ²Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; ³Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) at 3T has been used to calculate the amide proton transfer asymmetry (APTasym) to detect subtle characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in the spinal cord. A white matter lesion in the dorsal column demonstrated T2 hyperintensity and a relative decrease in MTR. APTasym measures from the five healthy controls found a significant difference between gray matter and white matter. This difference can be attributed to differences in the exchange properties and concentrations of amide protons in healthy gray/white matter in the spinal cord.