Rafal Janik1, Greg Hawryluk2,3,
Kimberly Lara Desmond4, Ryan Fobel4, Micheal Fehlings2,3,
Greg J. Stanisz1,4
1Imaging Research,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 2Division
of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 3Krembil
Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada; 4Department of Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada
7T quantitative MR measurements (DTI, QT2, T1, and MT) of rats with spinal cord injuries were performed to monitor the efficacy of neural precursor cell (NPC) transplantation therapy. The parameter maps from all of the scans were used to automatically segment healthy neural tissue from lesional tissue and CSF. Total neural tissue measured by MR and histology was higher in NPC transplanted animals. T1 relaxation rates were lower in NPC transplanted animals suggesting reduced inflammation and CSF infiltration. In vivo MR measures of tissue preservation showed a statistically significant correlation (p<0.05) of 0.63 with histology.