Jason A. Langley1,2, Joonsang Lee1,2,
Luning Wang1,2, Qun Zhao1,2
1Department of Physics
& Astronomy, the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States; 2Bioimaging
Research Center, the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
SPIO nanoparticles (SPIOs) create hypointensities in the magnitude image that make detection of SPIOs difficult in vivo. This negative contrast in the magnitude image can be negated by post-processing positive contrast algorithms. Unfortunately, the positive contrast algorithms cannot distinguish between regions with SPIOs and air pockets. In this abstract, we use independent component analysis (ICA) to differentiate regions containing SPIOs and air pockets in a phantom. Three images of the phantom, taken with different combinations of echo times and repetition times, are used in the ICA procedure. Future studies will attempt to verify this method in vivo.