Myelin produces ultrashort-lived MRI signals, and cannot be directly imaged using conventional MRI sequences that typically have TEs of several milliseconds or longer. This study explored the potential of inversion recovery ultrashort echo time (IR-UTE) sequences in direct myelin imaging in an ovine brain D2O exchange model. The IR-UTE signals survived D2O exchange. Myelin T2* was measured to be 200-300 µs both before and after exchange. These results support myelin to be the major source of the ultrashort T2* signals seen on IR-UTE images, and IR-UTE sequence as a tool for assessing myelin loss in multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
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