White Matter Attenuation Sequence Optimization at 7T with Applications in Multiple Sclerosis & Epilepsy

Katharine Teal Bluestein¹, Peter Wassenaar¹, Petra Schmalbrock¹, Michael V. Knopp¹

Increasing image contrast and resolution is vital to early detection of abnormalities in the brain. White matter attenuation (WHAT) accomplishes this goal by suppressing the signal of white matter and enhancing the signal contrast of gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid. Images of 5 healthy, 4 MS and 2 epileptic patients were acquired at 7T. Comparing the simulated signal response with measured regions of interest shows that the theoretical model is very well correlated to measured data. The superior tissue contrast allowed easy identification of white matter lesions and heterotopic gray matter, and the depiction of cortical lesions was considered adequate.