TY - JOUR A1 - Guggenberger, Konstanze Viktoria A1 - Torre, Giulia Dalla A1 - Ludwig, Ute A1 - Vogel, Patrick A1 - Weng, Andreas Max A1 - Vogt, Marius Lothar A1 - Fröhlich, Matthias A1 - Schmalzing, Marc A1 - Raithel, Esther A1 - Forman, Christoph A1 - Urbach, Horst A1 - Meckel, Stephan A1 - Bley, Thorsten Alexander T1 - Vasa vasorum of proximal cerebral arteries after dural crossing - potential imaging confounder in diagnosing intracranial vasculitis in elderly subjects on black-blood MRI JF - European Radiology N2 - Objectives Vessel wall enhancement (VWE) may be commonly seen on MRI images of asymptomatic subjects. This study aimed to characterize the VWE of the proximal internal carotid (ICA) and vertebral arteries (VA) in a non-vasculitic elderly patient cohort. Methods Cranial MRI scans at 3 Tesla were performed in 43 patients (aged ≥ 50 years) with known malignancy for exclusion of cerebral metastases. For vessel wall imaging (VWI), a high-resolution compressed-sensing black-blood 3D T1-weighted fast (turbo) spin echo sequence (T1 CS-SPACE prototype) was applied post gadolinium with an isotropic resolution of 0.55 mm. Bilateral proximal intradural ICA and VA segments were evaluated for presence, morphology, and longitudinal extension of VWE. Results Concentric VWE of the proximal intradural ICA was found in 13 (30%) patients, and of the proximal intradural VA in 39 (91%) patients. Mean longitudinal extension of VWE after dural entry was 13 mm in the VA and 2 mm in the ICA. In 14 of 39 patients (36%) with proximal intradural VWE, morphology of VWE was suggestive of the mere presence of vasa vasorum. In 25 patients (64 %), morphology indicated atherosclerotic lesions in addition to vasa vasorum. Conclusions Vasa vasorum may account for concentric VWE within the proximal 2 mm of the ICA and 13 mm of the VA after dural entry in elderly subjects. Concentric VWE in these locations should not be confused with large artery vasculitis. Distal to these segments, VWE may be more likely related to pathologic conditions such as vasculitis. KW - vertebral artery KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - vasa vasorum KW - large artery vasculitis KW - Atherosclerosis, intracranial arteries Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-266524 SN - 1432-1084 VL - 32 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Herz, Stefan A1 - Stefanescu, Maria R. A1 - Lohr, David A1 - Vogel, Patrick A1 - Kosmala, Aleksander A1 - Terekhov, Maxim A1 - Weng, Andreas M. A1 - Grunz, Jan-Peter A1 - Bley, Thorsten A. A1 - Schreiber, Laura M. T1 - Effects of image homogeneity on stenosis visualization at 7 T in a coronary artery phantom study: With and without B1-shimming and parallel transmission JF - PloS One N2 - Background To investigate the effects of B\(_1\)-shimming and radiofrequency (RF) parallel transmission (pTX) on the visualization and quantification of the degree of stenosis in a coronary artery phantom using 7 Tesla (7 T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods Stenosis phantoms with different grades of stenosis (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%; 5 mm inner vessel diameter) were produced using 3D printing (clear resin). Phantoms were imaged with four different concentrations of diluted Gd-DOTA representing established arterial concentrations after intravenous injection in humans. Samples were centrally positioned in a thorax phantom of 30 cm diameter filled with a custom-made liquid featuring dielectric properties of muscle tissue. MRI was performed on a 7 T whole-body system. 2D-gradient-echo sequences were acquired with an 8-channel transmit 16-channel receive (8 Tx / 16 Rx) cardiac array prototype coil with and without pTX mode. Measurements were compared to those obtained with identical scan parameters using a commercially available 1 Tx / 16 Rx single transmit coil (sTX). To assess reproducibility, measurements (n = 15) were repeated at different horizontal angles with respect to the B0-field. Results B\(_1\)-shimming and pTX markedly improved flip angle homogeneity across the thorax phantom yielding a distinctly increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) averaged over a whole slice relative to non-manipulated RF fields. Images without B\(_1\)-shimming showed shading artifacts due to local B\(_1\)\(^+\)-field inhomogeneities, which hampered stenosis quantification in severe cases. In contrast, B\(_1\)-shimming and pTX provided superior image homogeneity. Compared with a conventional sTX coil higher grade stenoses (60% and 80%) were graded significantly (p<0.01) more precise. Mild to moderate grade stenoses did not show significant differences. Overall, SNR was distinctly higher with B\(_1\)-shimming and pTX than with the conventional sTX coil (inside the stenosis phantoms 14%, outside the phantoms 32%). Both full and half concentration (10.2 mM and 5.1 mM) of a conventional Gd-DOTA dose for humans were equally suitable for stenosis evaluation in this phantom study. Conclusions B\(_1\)-shimming and pTX at 7 T can distinctly improve image homogeneity and therefore provide considerably more accurate MR image analysis, which is beneficial for imaging of small vessel structures. KW - stenosis KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - thorax KW - in vivo imaging KW - coronary arteries KW - image processing KW - 3D printing KW - signal to noise ratio Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300129 VL - 17 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Andelovic, Kristina A1 - Winter, Patrick A1 - Jakob, Peter Michael A1 - Bauer, Wolfgang Rudolf A1 - Herold, Volker A1 - Zernecke, Alma T1 - Evaluation of plaque characteristics and inflammation using magnetic resonance imaging JF - Biomedicines N2 - Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease of large and medium-sized arteries, characterized by the growth of atherosclerotic lesions (plaques). These plaques often develop at inner curvatures of arteries, branchpoints, and bifurcations, where the endothelial wall shear stress is low and oscillatory. In conjunction with other processes such as lipid deposition, biomechanical factors lead to local vascular inflammation and plaque growth. There is also evidence that low and oscillatory shear stress contribute to arterial remodeling, entailing a loss in arterial elasticity and, therefore, an increased pulse-wave velocity. Although altered shear stress profiles, elasticity and inflammation are closely intertwined and critical for plaque growth, preclinical and clinical investigations for atherosclerosis mostly focus on the investigation of one of these parameters only due to the experimental limitations. However, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been demonstrated to be a potent tool which can be used to provide insights into a large range of biological parameters in one experimental session. It enables the evaluation of the dynamic process of atherosclerotic lesion formation without the need for harmful radiation. Flow-sensitive MRI provides the assessment of hemodynamic parameters such as wall shear stress and pulse wave velocity which may replace invasive and radiation-based techniques for imaging of the vascular function and the characterization of early plaque development. In combination with inflammation imaging, the analyses and correlations of these parameters could not only significantly advance basic preclinical investigations of atherosclerotic lesion formation and progression, but also the diagnostic clinical evaluation for early identification of high-risk plaques, which are prone to rupture. In this review, we summarize the key applications of magnetic resonance imaging for the evaluation of plaque characteristics through flow sensitive and morphological measurements. The simultaneous measurements of functional and structural parameters will further preclinical research on atherosclerosis and has the potential to fundamentally improve the detection of inflammation and vulnerable plaques in patients. KW - atherosclerosis KW - mouse models KW - wall shear stress KW - pulse wave velocity KW - arterial elasticity KW - inflammation KW - magnetic resonance imaging Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228839 SN - 2227-9059 VL - 9 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franich, Robert A. A1 - Meder, Roger A1 - Behr, Volker C. T1 - Dewatering Green Sapwood Using Carbon Dioxide Undergoing Cyclical Phase Change between Supercritical Fluid and Gas JF - Molecules N2 - Conventional kiln drying of wood operates by the evaporation of water at elevated temperature. In the initial stage of drying, mobile water in the wood cell lumen evaporates. More slowly, water bound in the wood cell walls evaporates, requiring the breaking of hydrogen bonds between water molecules and cellulose and hemicellulose polymers in the cell wall. An alternative for wood kiln drying is a patented process for green wood dewatering through the molecular interaction of supercritical carbon dioxide with water of wood cell sap. When the system pressure is reduced to below the critical point, phase change from supercritical fluid to gas occurs with a consequent large change in CO2 volume. This results in the efficient, rapid, mechanical expulsion of liquid sap from wood. The end-point of this cyclical phase-change process is wood dewatered to the cell wall fibre saturation point. This paper describes dewatering over a range of green wood specimen sizes, from laboratory physical chemistry studies to pilot-plant trials. Magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were applied to study the fundamental mechanisms of the process, which were contrasted with similar studies of conventional thermal wood drying. In conclusion, opportunities and impediments towards the commercialisation of the green wood dewatering process are discussed. KW - supercritical CO2 KW - phase-change KW - sapwood KW - dewatering KW - physical chemistry KW - nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy KW - magnetic resonance imaging Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219327 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 25 IS - 22 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Herold, Volker A1 - Herz, Stefan A1 - Winter, Patrick A1 - Gutjahr, Fabian Tobias A1 - Andelovic, Kristina A1 - Bauer, Wolfgang Rudolf A1 - Jakob, Peter Michael T1 - Assessment of local pulse wave velocity distribution in mice using k-t BLAST PC-CMR with semi-automatic area segmentation. JF - Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance N2 - Background: Local aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure for vascular stiffness and has a predictive value for cardiovascular events. Ultra high field CMR scanners allow the quantification of local PWV in mice, however these systems are yet unable to monitor the distribution of local elasticities. Methods: In the present study we provide a new accelerated method to quantify local aortic PWV in mice with phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (PC-CMR) at 17.6 T. Based on a k-t BLAST (Broad-use Linear Acquisition Speed-up Technique) undersampling scheme, total measurement time could be reduced by a factor of 6. The fast data acquisition enables to quantify the local PWV at several locations along the aortic blood vessel based on the evaluation of local temporal changes in blood flow and vessel cross sectional area. To speed up post processing and to eliminate operator bias, we introduce a new semi-automatic segmentation algorithm to quantify cross-sectional areas of the aortic vessel. The new methods were applied in 10 eight-month-old mice (4 C57BL/6J-mice and 6 ApoE\(^{(-/-)}\)-mice) at 12 adjacent locations along the abdominal aorta. Results: Accelerated data acquisition and semi-automatic post-processing delivered reliable measures for the local PWV, similiar to those obtained with full data sampling and manual segmentation. No statistically significant differences of the mean values could be detected for the different measurement approaches. Mean PWV values were elevated for the ApoE\(^{(-/-)}\)-group compared to the C57BL/6J-group (3.5 ± 0.7 m/s vs. 2.2 ± 0.4 m/s, p < 0.01). A more heterogeneous PWV-distribution in the ApoE \(^{(-/-)}\)-animals could be observed compared to the C57BL/6J-mice, representing the local character of lesion development in atherosclerosis. Conclusion: In the present work, we showed that k-t BLAST PC-MRI enables the measurement of the local PWV distribution in the mouse aorta. The semi-automatic segmentation method based on PC-CMR data allowed rapid determination of local PWV. The findings of this study demonstrate the ability of the proposed methods to non-invasively quantify the spatial variations in local PWV along the aorta of ApoE\(^{(-/-)}\)-mice as a relevant model of atherosclerosis. KW - pulse wave velocity KW - ApoE\(^{(-/-)}\) KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - phase contrast Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-157696 VL - 19 IS - 77 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurz, Felix T. A1 - Kampf, Thomas A1 - Buschle, Lukas R. A1 - Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter A1 - Bendszus, Martin A1 - Heiland, Sabine A1 - Ziener, Christian H. T1 - Generalized moment analysis of magnetic field correlations for accumulations of spherical and cylindrical magnetic perturbers JF - Frontiers in Physics N2 - In biological tissue, an accumulation of similarly shaped objects with a susceptibility difference to the surrounding tissue generates a local distortion of the external magnetic field in magnetic resonance imaging. It induces stochastic field fluctuations that characteristically influence proton spin dephasing in the vicinity of these magnetic perturbers. The magnetic field correlation that is associated with such local magnetic field inhomogeneities can be expressed in the form of a dynamic frequency autocorrelation function that is related to the time evolution of the measured magnetization. Here, an eigenfunction expansion for two simple magnetic perturber shapes, that of spheres and cylinders, is considered for restricted spin diffusion in a simple model geometry. Then, the concept of generalized moment analysis, an approximation technique that is applied in the study of (non-)reactive processes that involve Brownian motion, allows deriving analytical expressions of the correlation function for different exponential decay forms. Results for the biexponential decay for both spherical and cylindrical magnetized objects are derived and compared with the frequently used (less accurate) monoexponential decay forms. They are in asymptotic agreement with the numerically exact value of the correlation function for long and short times. KW - magnetized sphere/cylinder KW - magnetic susceptibility KW - correlation function KW - diffusion KW - magnetic resonance imaging Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190604 SN - 2296-424X VL - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Basse-Luesebrink, Thomas Christian A1 - Hess, Michael A1 - Hofmann, Elisabeth A1 - Seubert, Carolin A1 - Langbein-Laugwitz, Johanna A1 - Gentschev, Ivaylo A1 - Sturm, Volker Jörg Friedrich A1 - Ye, Yuxiang A1 - Kampf, Thomas A1 - Jakob, Peter Michael A1 - Szalay, Aladar A. T1 - Imaging of Intratumoral Inflammation during Oncolytic Virotherapy of Tumors by \(^{19}\)F-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Oncolytic virotherapy of tumors is an up-coming, promising therapeutic modality of cancer therapy. Unfortunately, non-invasive techniques to evaluate the inflammatory host response to treatment are rare. Here, we evaluate \(^{19}\)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which enables the non-invasive visualization of inflammatory processes in pathological conditions by the use of perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions (PFC) for monitoring of oncolytic virotherapy. Methodology/Principal Findings The Vaccinia virus strain GLV-1h68 was used as an oncolytic agent for the treatment of different tumor models. Systemic application of PFC emulsions followed by \(^1H\)/\(^{19}\)F MRI of mock-infected and GLV-1h68-infected tumor-bearing mice revealed a significant accumulation of the \(^{19}\)F signal in the tumor rim of virus-treated mice. Histological examination of tumors confirmed a similar spatial distribution of the \(^{19}\)F signal hot spots and \(CD68^+\)-macrophages. Thereby, the \(CD68^+\)-macrophages encapsulate the GFP-positive viral infection foci. In multiple tumor models, we specifically visualized early inflammatory cell recruitment in Vaccinia virus colonized tumors. Furthermore, we documented that the \(^{19}\)F signal correlated with the extent of viral spreading within tumors. Conclusions/Significance These results suggest \(^{19}\)F MRI as a non-invasive methodology to document the tumor-associated host immune response as well as the extent of intratumoral viral replication. Thus, \(^{19}\)F MRI represents a new platform to non-invasively investigate the role of the host immune response for therapeutic outcome of oncolytic virotherapy and individual patient response. KW - inflammation KW - fluorescence microscopy KW - oncolytic viruses KW - fluorescence imaging KW - macrophages KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - histology KW - in vivo imaging Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130311 VL - 8 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nordbeck, Peter A1 - Bönhof, Leoni A1 - Hiller, Karl-Heinz A1 - Voll, Sabine A1 - Arias-Loza, Paula A1 - Seidlmaier, Lea A1 - Williams, Tatjana A1 - Ye, Yu-Xiang A1 - Gensler, Daniel A1 - Pelzer, Theo A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Jakob, Peter M. A1 - Bauer, Wolfgang R. A1 - Ritter, Oliver T1 - Impact of Thoracic Surgery on Cardiac Morphology and Function in Small Animal Models of Heart Disease: A Cardiac MRI Study in Rats JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Surgical procedures in small animal models of heart disease might evoke alterations in cardiac morphology and function. The aim of this study was to reveal and quantify such potential artificial early or long term effects in vivo, which might account for a significant bias in basic cardiovascular research, and, therefore, could potentially question the meaning of respective studies. Methods Female Wistar rats (n = 6 per group) were matched for weight and assorted for sham left coronary artery ligation or control. Cardiac morphology and function was then investigated in vivo by cine magnetic resonance imaging at 7 Tesla 1 and 8 weeks after the surgical procedure. The time course of metabolic and inflammatory blood parameters was determined in addition. Results Compared to healthy controls, rats after sham surgery showed a lower body weight both 1 week (267.5±10.6 vs. 317.0±11.3 g, n<0.05) and 8 weeks (317.0±21.1 vs. 358.7±22.4 g, n<0.05) after the intervention. Left and right ventricular morphology and function were not different in absolute measures in both groups 1 week after surgery. However, there was a confined difference in several cardiac parameters normalized to the body weight (bw), such as myocardial mass (2.19±0.30/0.83±0.13 vs. 1.85±0.22/0.70±0.07 mg left/right per g bw, p<0.05), or enddiastolic ventricular volume (1.31±0.36/1.21±0.31 vs. 1.14±0.20/1.07±0.17 µl left/right per g bw, p<0.05). Vice versa, after 8 weeks, cardiac masses, volumes, and output showed a trend for lower values in sham operated rats compared to controls in absolute measures (782.2±57.2/260.2±33.2 vs. 805.9±84.8/310.4±48.5 mg, p<0.05 for left/right ventricular mass), but not normalized to body weight. Matching these findings, blood testing revealed only minor inflammatory but prolonged metabolic changes after surgery not related to cardiac disease. Conclusion Cardio-thoracic surgical procedures in experimental myocardial infarction cause distinct alterations upon the global integrity of the organism, which in the long term also induce circumscribed repercussions on cardiac morphology and function. This impact has to be considered when analyzing data from respective animal studies and transferring these findings to conditions in patients. KW - heart rate KW - body weight KW - surgical and invasive medical procedures KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - blood KW - vascular surgery KW - myocardial infarction KW - cardiac ventricles Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130064 VL - 8 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weise, Gesa A1 - Basse-Lüsebrink, Thomas C. A1 - Kleinschnitz, Christoph A1 - Kampf, Thomas A1 - Jakob, Peter M. A1 - Stoll, Guido T1 - In Vivo Imaging of Stepwise Vessel Occlusion in Cerebral Photothrombosis of Mice by \(^{19}\)F MRI JF - PLoS One N2 - Background \(^{19}\)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was recently introduced as a promising technique for in vivo cell tracking. In the present study we compared \(^{19}\)F MRI with iron-enhanced MRI in mice with photothrombosis (PT) at 7 Tesla. PT represents a model of focal cerebral ischemia exhibiting acute vessel occlusion and delayed neuroinflammation. Methods/Principal Findings Perfluorocarbons (PFC) or superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (SPIO) were injected intravenously at different time points after photothrombotic infarction. While administration of PFC directly after PT induction led to a strong \(^{19}\)F signal throughout the entire lesion, two hours delayed application resulted in a rim-like \(^{19}\)F signal at the outer edge of the lesion. These findings closely resembled the distribution of signal loss on T2-weighted MRI seen after SPIO injection reflecting intravascular accumulation of iron particles trapped in vessel thrombi as confirmed histologically. By sequential administration of two chemically shifted PFC compounds 0 and 2 hours after illumination the different spatial distribution of the \(^{19}\)F markers (infarct core/rim) could be visualized in the same animal. When PFC were applied at day 6 the fluorine marker was only detected after long acquisition times ex vivo. SPIO-enhanced MRI showed slight signal loss in vivo which was much more prominent ex vivo indicative for neuroinflammation at this late lesion stage. Conclusion Our study shows that vessel occlusion can be followed in vivo by \(^{19}\)F and SPIO-enhanced high-field MRI while in vivo imaging of neuroinflammation remains challenging. The timing of contrast agent application was the major determinant of the underlying processes depicted by both imaging techniques. Importantly, sequential application of different PFC compounds allowed depiction of ongoing vessel occlusion from the core to the margin of the ischemic lesions in a single MRI measurement. KW - in vivo imaging KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - macrophages KW - emulsions KW - infarction KW - fluorine KW - prefrontal cortex KW - developmental signaling Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-137792 VL - 6 IS - 12 ER -