Quantitative MRI of the Spinal Cord

Quantitative MRI of the Spinal Cord is the first book focused on quantitative MRI techniques with specific application to the human spinal cord. This work includes coverage of diffusion-weighted imaging, magnetization transfer imaging, relaxometry, functional MRI, and spectroscopy. Although these methods have been successfully used in the brain for the past 20 years, their application in the spinal cord remains problematic due to important acquisition challenges (such as small cross-sectional size, motion, and susceptibility artifacts). To date, there is no consensus on how to apply these techniques; this book reviews and synthesizes state-of-the-art methods so users can successfully apply them to the spinal cord.

Quantitative MRI of the Spinal Cord introduces the theory behind each quantitative technique, reviews each theory’s applications in the human spinal cord and describes its pros and cons, and suggests a simple protocol for applying each quantitative technique to the spinal cord.

Chapters authored by international experts in the field of MRI of the spinal cordContains “cooking recipes”—examples of imaging parameters for each quantitative technique—designed to aid researchers and clinicians in using them in practiceIdeal for clinical settings

1. Quantitative Biomarkers in the Spinal Cord: What For? 1.1 Rationale for Quantitative MRI of the Human Spinal Cord and Clinical Applications 1.2 Inflammatory Demyelinating Diseases 1.3A Acute SCI and Prognosis 1.3B Chronic SCI and Recovery

2. Physics of MRI 2.1 Array Coils 2.2 B0 Inhomogeneity and Shimming 2.3 Susceptibility Artifacts 2.4 Ultra-High Field

3. Imaging Spinal Cord Structure 3.1 Diffusion-Weighted Imaging 3.2 Q-Space Imaging 3.3 Model-Based Microstructure Imaging: A Future Perspective 3.4 Magnetization Transfer 3.5 T2 Relaxation 3.6 Atrophy

4. Imaging Spinal Cord Function 4.1 fMRI Using BOLD 4.2 Physiological Noise Modeling 4.3 Mapping the Vasculature of the Spinal Cord

5. Spectroscopy 5.1 Quantifying Metabolite Concentration

Annex: Anatomy of the Spinal Cord