MRI detection of tissue macromolecular characteristics using MTC effects

摘要

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and method (a) acquires k-space data for a patient ROI over a predetermined band of RF frequencies using RF excitation pulses having respectively corresponding RF frequencies incrementally offset from a nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) Larmor frequency for free nuclei over a predetermined range of different offset frequencies in which target macromolecule responses are expected and to process such acquired data into spectral data for voxels in the ROI; (b) analyzes the acquired spectral data to provide spectral peak width data corresponding to tissue values in the ROI for macromolecules participating in magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) effects producing said spectral data; and (c) stores and/or displays data representative of tissue values of the ROI which values are different for different tissues.

主权项

1. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system comprising:
an MRI gantry having static and gradient magnet assemblies and at least one radio frequency (RF) coil defining an image volume into which a patient region of interest (ROI) can be disposed; MRI control circuits connected to control components within said MRI gantry and configured to effect MRI data acquisition sequences of RF and gradient magnetic pulses and thereby elicit MRI signals from patient tissue when the patient ROI is disposed therein, the MRI control circuits also being configured to acquire and process said elicited MRI signals, in at least one processor, into MR image data; said at least one processor and MRI control circuits being configured to:
(a) acquire k-space data from the patient ROI over a predetermined band of RF frequencies using the at least one RF coil and RF excitation pulses having respectively corresponding RF frequencies that are incrementally offset from a nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) Larmor frequency of free nuclei over a predetermined range of different offset frequencies in which target macromolecule responses are expected;(b) analyze the acquired k-space data with the at least one processor in order to provide spectral peak width data of the patient ROI that represents macromolecules participating in the magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) effects; and(c) store and/or display, with a memory and/or a graphical user interface (GUI) connected to the at least one processor, the provided spectral peak width data that is representative of the MRI signals elicited from patient tissue in the patient ROI having macromolecules participating in said MTC effects.