Abstract #2754

Multi-Parameter Mapping of the Human Cervical Cord at 3.0T in Less than 20 Minutes

Rebecca Sara Samson¹, Olga Ciccarelli², Carolina Kachramanoglou², Antoine Lutti³, David J. L. Thomas², Nikolaus Weiskopf³, Claudia A. M. Wheeler-Kingshott¹

¹Department of Neuroinflammation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, England, United Kingdom; ²Department of Brain Repair & Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, England, United Kingdom; ³Functional Imaging Laboratory, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, England, United Kingdom

Quantitative MRI techniques have been shown to be sensitive to changes in diseased spinal cord via measurements of relaxation times, the Magnetisation Transfer Ratio (MTR), and more recently quantitative Magnetisation Transfer (MT) parameters. We have developed an imaging protocol to enable mapping of proton density (PD), T₁, MTR, MT and R₂^* in under 20 minutes. Here we present data acquired in the spinal cords of 12 healthy volunteers using this rapid multi-parameter mapping protocol. This technique may provide an insight into pathological processes occurring in the cervical cord affected by neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).