Abstract #1402

Reduced field-of-view multi-shell diffusion-weighted imaging of the sciatic nerve: Application to multiple sclerosis

Marios C. Yiannakas¹, Francesco Grussu^1,2, Marco Battiston¹, Ratthaporn Boonsuth¹, Rebecca S. Samson¹, Torben Schneider³, Masami Yoneyama⁴, Ferran Prados^1,5,6, Carmen Tur¹, Sara Collorone¹, Rosanna Cortese¹, Olga Ciccarelli¹, and Claudia A. M. Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott^1,7,8

¹Queen Square MS Centre, Department of Neuroinflammation, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ²Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ³Philips Healthcare, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, ⁴Philips Japan, Minatoku, Tokyo, Japan, ⁵Centre for Medical Image Computing, Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁶Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, ⁷Brain MRI 3T Research Centre, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy, ⁸Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

Ex vivo investigations have demonstrated the involvement of the peripheral nervous system in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the use of advanced imaging methods to study individual peripheral nerves in vivo, such as the sciatic nerve, has been hindered by a number of technical challenges. In this pilot in vivo study, we explore the feasibility of acquiring multi-shell diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) metrics in the sciatic nerve of people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) using reduced field-of-view echo planar imaging. DWI metrics in people with RRMS display changes in comparison to healthy controls, suggesting that the structural integrity of the nerve is compromised.

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